Advanced Energy Industries Inc. Stock Upgraded (AEIS)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Advanced Energy Industries (Nasdaq:AEIS) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from hold to buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, good cash flow from operations, expanding profit margins and solid stock price performance. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat weak growth in earnings per share.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• AEIS has no debt to speak of therefore resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of zero, which we consider to be a relatively favorable sign. Along with this, the company maintains a quick ratio of 3.03, which clearly demonstrates the ability to cover short-term cash needs.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 108.75% to $27.45 million when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, ADVANCED ENERGY INDS INC has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of -93.30%.
• 41.50% is the gross profit margin for ADVANCED ENERGY INDS INC which we consider to be strong. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Despite the strong results of the gross profit margin, AEIS's net profit margin of 4.88% significantly trails the industry average.
• Compared to its closing price of one year ago, AEIS's share price has jumped by 37.07%, exceeding the performance of the broader market during that same time frame. Looking ahead, the stock's sharp rise over the last year has already helped drive it to a level which is relatively expensive compared to the rest of its industry. We feel, however, that other strengths this company displays justify these higher price levels.
• Regardless of the drop in revenue, the company managed to outperform against the industry average of 10.7%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 8.5%. The declining revenue appears to have seeped down to the company's bottom line, decreasing earnings per share.

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Advanced Energy Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, sells, and supports power conversion products that transform power into various usable forms. The company has a P/E ratio of 44.9, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Advanced Energy has a market cap of $561.3 million and is part of the technology sector and electronics industry. Shares are up 6.9% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday.

You can view the full Advanced Energy Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

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