Brokerages Set The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) Target Price at $24.27

The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.2727.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AES shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on AES from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Mizuho lowered shares of AES from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of AES in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AES from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $15.00 price target (down from $23.00) on shares of AES in a research note on Friday, March 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AES

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of AES by 128.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,147,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $102,494,000 after buying an additional 4,021,385 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in AES by 975.3% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 3,086,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,466,000 after acquiring an additional 2,799,148 shares in the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT raised its holdings in AES by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 6,898,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $98,922,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,530 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in AES by 247.6% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 968,333 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,185,000 after acquiring an additional 689,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in AES by 4,710.9% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 542,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,780,000 after acquiring an additional 531,251 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.13% of the company’s stock.

AES Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AES opened at $14.21 on Friday. AES has a 52-week low of $9.46 and a 52-week high of $17.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $15.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.27. The firm has a market cap of $10.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94.

AES (NYSE:AES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.13. AES had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 7.40%.The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that AES will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

AES Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.176 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. AES’s payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

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.