Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 483,848 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 53,566 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Advanced Energy Industries were worth $50,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 200.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 312 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 68.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 458 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Advanced Energy Industries during the second quarter valued at about $87,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 2,150.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 810 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,000 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.72, for a total transaction of $111,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $568,878.24. This trade represents a 16.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AEIS. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Bank of America raised Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Baird R W raised Advanced Energy Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advanced Energy Industries has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.25.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Down 0.8 %

AEIS stock opened at $113.00 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.36. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $89.11 and a twelve month high of $124.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 99.12, a PEG ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 3.32, a current ratio of 4.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.07. Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The company had revenue of $374.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $372.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Advanced Energy Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 35.09%.

About Advanced Energy Industries

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc provides precision power conversion, measurement, and control solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's plasma power products offer solutions to enable innovation for semiconductor and thin film plasma processes, such as dry etch and deposition.