AES (NYSE:AES) Stock Rating Lowered by Argus

AES (NYSE:AES) was downgraded by Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AES. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AES from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of AES in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Mizuho lowered AES from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 price target (down from $23.00) on shares of AES in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of AES in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.27.

AES Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of AES stock opened at $14.07 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $15.06 and its 200 day moving average is $14.31. AES has a one year low of $9.46 and a one year high of $17.65. The firm has a market cap of $10.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AES. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised its position in AES by 64.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 303,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,994,000 after buying an additional 118,911 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its holdings in shares of AES by 152.2% in the third quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 155,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 93,763 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of AES during the third quarter valued at about $4,585,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in AES by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,323,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,927,000 after purchasing an additional 43,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in AES in the 3rd quarter valued at about $867,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.13% of the company’s stock.

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.