AES (NYSE:AES) Stock Price Up 5.5% - Should You Buy?

Shares of The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) experienced a significant increase, rising by 5.5% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock reached a peak of $15.64 and concluded the day at $15.52. In total, around 2,496,326 shares exchanged hands, which is a notable decline of 70% from its average daily trading volume of 8,261,875 shares. This rebound follows a previous close of $14.71.

Wall Street Analyst Opinions

Recently, AES has been a focal point of numerous research reports. Jefferies Financial Group began its coverage of AES on September 11th, issuing a "buy" rating and setting a price target of $20.00. Barclays also raised their price target for AES on October 21st, increasing it from $22.00 to $23.00, along with an "overweight" rating for the stock. Additionally, Evercore ISI upgraded AES to a "strong-buy" rating on September 18th. Currently, two investment analysts recommend holding the stock, six suggest buying, and one has issued a strong buy recommendation. According to MarketBeat.com, the consensus rating stands at "Moderate Buy," with an average price target of $22.57.

AES Stock Performance Overview

The company has a fifty-day simple moving average of $17.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.30. Financial metrics indicate a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.63, a current ratio of 0.97, and a quick ratio of 0.91. AES has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, and a beta of 1.10. In its latest quarterly earnings report released on October 31st, AES reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.71, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.11. The company recorded a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 28.95%. The revenue for the quarter was $3.29 billion, although this was below analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion and represented a 4.2% decline compared to the previous year.

AES Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, set to be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders on record as of Friday, November 1st, will receive a dividend payment of $0.1725 per share. The ex-dividend date has also been marked for November 1st. This results in an annualized dividend of $0.69, reflecting a dividend yield of 4.52%. The current payout ratio for AES is 47.92%.

Institutional Investor Activity

Changes in institutional investments have also been notable. Norden Group LLC increased their stake in AES by 80.3% during the first quarter, owning 27,902 shares valued at about $500,000 after acquiring 12,429 shares. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted their AES holdings by an impressive 316.7% in the same period, now holding 325,872 shares worth $5,843,000 after purchasing 247,663 shares. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted their position in AES by 33.3%, now owning 794,793 shares valued at $14,251,000 after acquiring another 198,360 shares. Furthermore, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC significantly increased their AES holdings by 729.0% to own 278,575 shares worth nearly $5 million after acquiring 244,973 additional shares. Lastly, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its AES holdings by 10.2%, now possessing 26,033 shares valued at $467,000. As it stands, institutional investors own 93.13% of AES shares.

AES Company Overview

The AES Corporation, through its subsidiaries, functions as a diversified power generation and utility firm both in the United States and globally. The company is involved in generating electricity through its owned or operated power plants and supplying this electricity to various customers, including utilities and industrial users. Additionally, AES owns and operates utility services that cater to different sectors like residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental clients while also participating in the wholesale electricity market.

AES, Stock, Investing