Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Estimate for AES Earnings

The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research increased their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of AES in a note issued to investors on Thursday, January 9th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $1.96 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $1.95. The consensus estimate for AES’s current full-year earnings is $1.95 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for AES’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.37 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.44 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.60 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.70 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $0.35 EPS.

AES (NYSE:AES) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.11. AES had a return on equity of 27.30% and a net margin of 8.34%. The company had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on AES. Barclays cut their target price on AES from $23.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America started coverage on AES in a report on Monday, November 25th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $11.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded AES to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on AES from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised AES to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AES has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.30.

AES Stock Performance

NYSE:AES opened at $11.87 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.24, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.06. AES has a 1 year low of $11.57 and a 1 year high of $22.21.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AES

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of AES by 8.9% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 58,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 4,799 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AES by 169.5% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 42,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $741,000 after buying an additional 26,543 shares during the period. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in AES in the second quarter valued at $376,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AES by 18.4% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 77,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 12,037 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in AES by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,353,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,787,000 after buying an additional 164,606 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.13% of the company’s stock.

AES Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.176 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 5.93%. AES’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.61%.

About AES

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.