Short Interest in The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) Rises By 33.4%

The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 24,330,000 shares, an increase of 33.4% from the August 15th total of 18,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,620,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

AES Stock Performance

AES stock traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $19.11. 4,170,367 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,009,714. The company has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49 and a beta of 1.07. AES has a fifty-two week low of $11.43 and a fifty-two week high of $22.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $17.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.63, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

AES (NYSE:AES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. AES had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that AES will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AES Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a $0.1725 dividend. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. AES’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on AES shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on AES in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on AES from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered AES from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AES

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in AES in the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of AES by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,559,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,273,000 after buying an additional 10,002 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in AES by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 698,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,227,000 after purchasing an additional 41,238 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of AES by 60.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 14,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 5,402 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AES by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 93,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 21,217 shares during the period. 93.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AES Company Profile

The AES Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified power generation and utility company in the United States and internationally. The company owns and/or operates power plants to generate and sell power to customers, such as utilities, industrial users, and other intermediaries; owns and/or operates utilities to generate or purchase, distribute, transmit, and sell electricity to end-user customers in the residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental sectors; and generates and sells electricity on the wholesale market.