Stephens Inc. AR Acquires 133,308 Shares of The AES Co. (NYSE:AES)

Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) by 67.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 332,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 133,308 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in AES were worth $4,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

AES Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AES opened at $10.75 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.16. The AES Co. has a twelve month low of $10.33 and a twelve month high of $22.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a PE ratio of 7.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.99.

AES Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.176 per share. This is a boost from AES’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.54%. AES’s payout ratio is presently 48.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AES shares. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of AES from $17.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded AES to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho dropped their price target on AES from $24.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America assumed coverage on AES in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $11.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of AES from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AES currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.80.

AES Profile

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.