Squarepoint Ops LLC Grows Stake in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) by 426.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,631 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,568 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Advanced Energy Industries were worth $3,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 61.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 354 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter worth $74,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,023 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 989 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (down from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.67.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ AEIS opened at $113.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 3.27 and a current ratio of 4.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.63, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $100.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.65. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.01 and a 52-week high of $132.16.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $404.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $392.36 million. Advanced Energy Industries had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 3.66%. Advanced Energy Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 26th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total transaction of $2,155,077.49. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,212,333.42. This represents a 49.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Advanced Energy Industries Company Profile

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.