Needham & Company LLC Cuts Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Price Target to $135.00

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) had its price target cut by Needham & Company LLC from $145.00 to $135.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the electronics maker’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Advanced Energy Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.44.

Advanced Energy Industries Price Performance

NASDAQ AEIS opened at $111.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.83, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.47. Advanced Energy Industries has a 12 month low of $75.01 and a 12 month high of $132.16. The company’s 50 day moving average is $98.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.14. The company has a current ratio of 4.42, a quick ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $404.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $392.36 million. Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The company’s revenue was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Advanced Energy Industries will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, May 24th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total value of $206,992.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,492 shares in the company, valued at $451,760.04. This trade represents a 31.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total transaction of $2,155,077.49. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 19,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,212,333.42. This trade represents a 49.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advanced Energy Industries

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 535.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 216 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 61.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 354 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 71.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 559 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Advanced Energy Industries Company Profile

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc provides precision power conversion, measurement, and control solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's plasma power products offer solutions to enable innovation for semiconductor and thin film plasma processes, such as dry etch and deposition.