Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on AES (NYSE:AES)

The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 5,561 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 31% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,235 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AES shares. Argus cut AES from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Susquehanna lowered AES from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AES in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AES

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AES. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in AES by 99.8% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,280,668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,215,000 after purchasing an additional 7,133,230 shares during the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT grew its position in AES by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 6,898,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $98,922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,530 shares during the last quarter. Kryger Capital LLC acquired a new position in AES in the first quarter valued at $31,702,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AES by 247.6% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 968,333 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,185,000 after buying an additional 689,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of AES by 4,710.9% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 542,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,780,000 after buying an additional 531,251 shares during the period. 93.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AES News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AES this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AES Ohio reached an unopposed settlement on a three-year rate plan with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which could improve visibility on future regulated earnings if approved. AES Ohio reaches unopposed settlement on three-year rate plan with PUCO
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulators are reviewing the proposed AES Ohio rate hike settlement, and consumer pushback suggests approval could face public scrutiny even though the settlement is currently unopposed among key parties. PUCO to review proposed AES Ohio rate hike settlement
• Neutral Sentiment: Consumer advocates are also pressuring regulators to reject the proposed AES Ohio increase, arguing that higher power costs are already hurting families; this adds headline risk but does not yet change the outcome. Ohio families urge regulators to reject AES hike, saying power costs are already crushing them
• Negative Sentiment: Options activity turned more bearish, with unusually heavy put buying on AES, suggesting some traders are positioning for downside or hedging ahead of the regulatory decision.
• Negative Sentiment: Separately, a Yahoo Finance report says consumer advocates are seeking a breakup of BlackRock as it attempts to buy AES Indiana’s parent company, adding uncertainty around a potential ownership-related transaction. Consumer advocates seek breakup of BlackRock as it attempts to buy AES Indiana parent company

AES Price Performance

Shares of AES opened at $14.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. AES has a 1-year low of $12.33 and a 1-year high of $17.65. The stock has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 7.93 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $14.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.72.

AES (NYSE:AES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.18. AES had a return on equity of 22.66% and a net margin of 10.78%.The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AES will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

AES Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $0.176 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. AES’s payout ratio is currently 37.43%.

About AES

AES Corporation is a global energy company focused on the generation and distribution of electricity across diversified markets. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, AES develops, builds and operates power plants and distribution systems that serve residential, industrial and commercial customers. The company’s portfolio includes thermal, renewable and battery energy storage facilities designed to deliver reliable and sustainable electricity solutions.

Through its subsidiaries, AES operates a balanced mix of power generation assets, including natural gas, coal and renewables such as solar and wind.