The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) Shares Sold by MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 97,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,286 shares during the period. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AES were worth $1,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in shares of AES in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of AES during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of AES by 59.1% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of AES by 102.3% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in AES in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 93.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AES Stock Performance

Shares of AES opened at $13.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average is $15.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85. The AES Co. has a 1 year low of $12.53 and a 1 year high of $22.21.

AES (NYSE:AES) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.11. AES had a return on equity of 27.30% and a net margin of 8.34%. The business had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The AES Co. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

AES Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.176 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.17%. This is a boost from AES’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. AES’s payout ratio is 47.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AES shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AES from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI raised shares of AES to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on AES in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of AES from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of AES in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $11.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.22.

AES 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.