Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $130.50 and last traded at $127.67, with a volume of 42768 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $127.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AEIS shares. Citigroup upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Advanced Energy Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.89.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.62, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 109.90, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $117.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.25.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.07. Advanced Energy Industries had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 2.91%. The firm had revenue of $374.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $372.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. Advanced Energy Industries’s payout ratio is presently 35.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Energy Industries

In other news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.72, for a total transaction of $111,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $568,878.24. This trade represents a 16.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Energy Industries

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,259 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries during the second quarter worth approximately $87,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Advanced Energy Industries during the second quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $688,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 18.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Advanced Energy Industries

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.