AES (NYSE:AES) Cut to Hold at Argus

Argus lowered shares of AES (NYSE:AES) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat reports.

AES has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of AES in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Mizuho cut AES from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded AES from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of AES in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on AES from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.27.

AES Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AES opened at $14.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.33. AES has a twelve month low of $9.46 and a twelve month high of $17.65.

AES (NYSE:AES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. AES had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 19.93%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AES will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

AES Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.176 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. AES’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AES

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AES by 6.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 68,745 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $854,000 after purchasing an additional 3,936 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in AES by 259.7% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 54,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 39,283 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in AES during the first quarter valued at approximately $190,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in AES by 763.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 146,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,824,000 after purchasing an additional 129,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in AES by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 60,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 17,372 shares in the last quarter. 93.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AES News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AES this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights AES as a strong growth stock, pointing to favorable style scores that may attract growth‑oriented investors; this supports demand for the shares. Here’s Why AES (AES) is a Strong Growth Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also flags AES’s exposure to booming data‑center power demand — AES has ~8.2 GW in signed PPAs and growing relationships with big tech (including Google) that should lock in long‑dated revenues and improve visibility. Can AES Capitalize on Surging Data Center Energy Demand?
• Neutral Sentiment: AES sold interests tied to the former Redondo Beach power plant to a buyer group led by BlackRock — a move that monetizes non‑core assets and reduces legacy exposure but doesn’t materially change core renewable/generation growth narratives. Former Redondo power plant owners AES sold to group led by BlackRock
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put option activity: traders bought ~17,270 put contracts (about 36% above average), which signals elevated bearish bets and could increase short‑term downside volatility.
• Negative Sentiment: Argus downgraded AES from Buy to Hold, which may pressure investor sentiment and weigh on near‑term inflows from income/growth-focused funds.
• Negative Sentiment: Political/opinion coverage questions the handling of AES asset sales and regulatory oversight, adding reputational and political risk that could influence investor sentiment. Republicans could’ve stopped the AES sale. They chose not to. | Opinion

AES Company Profile

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.