AES (NYSE:AES) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $15.75 and last traded at $15.6350, with a volume of 977325 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on AES shares. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of AES from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on AES from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AES from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on AES from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of AES in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.83.

AES Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $14.16 and a 200 day moving average of $13.81. The company has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.00.

AES (NYSE:AES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.06. AES had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. AES has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.100-2.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The AES Corporation will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

AES Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $0.176 dividend. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. AES’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AES. Sound Shore Management Inc CT grew its stake in AES by 32.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc CT now owns 8,067,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,872,000 after acquiring an additional 1,969,741 shares in the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its stake in AES by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 7,882,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $103,730,000 after purchasing an additional 69,622 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in AES by 128.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,147,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $102,494,000 after purchasing an additional 4,021,385 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in AES by 975.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 3,086,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,466,000 after purchasing an additional 2,799,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of AES by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,329,577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,497,000 after buying an additional 5,669 shares during the period. 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.