AES (NYSE:AES) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $10.69 and last traded at $10.60, with a volume of 328396 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AES. Bank of America initiated coverage on AES in a report on Monday, November 25th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $11.00 target price for the company. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of AES in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $17.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on AES from $17.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on AES from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on AES from $24.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AES currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.80.

AES Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 7.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85.

AES Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.176 per share. This is an increase from AES’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. AES’s payout ratio is currently 48.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AES

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in AES by 59.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AES by 3.2% during the third quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,301 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 826 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in AES by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its stake in shares of AES by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 84,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners grew its position in shares of AES by 3.9% in the third quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners now owns 29,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the period. 93.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AES

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.