Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Estimate for AES Earnings

The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) – Zacks Research increased their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for AES in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, January 9th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the utilities provider will earn $1.96 per share for the year, up from their previous 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.11. AES had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 27.30%. The company had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. AES’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on AES. Hsbc Global Res upgraded AES to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of AES from $23.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of AES from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of AES in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $11.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of AES to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.30.

AES Price Performance

AES stock opened at $11.71 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.11. AES has a 52-week low of $11.57 and a 52-week high of $22.21.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AES

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in AES by 18.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,651,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $775,354,000 after buying an additional 5,960,546 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in shares of AES during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,746,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of AES by 169.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,143,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348,195 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in AES by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,838,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,000,000 after purchasing an additional 892,500 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new position in AES during the third quarter valued at $17,390,000. 93.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AES Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.176 dividend. This is an increase from AES’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.01%. AES’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.