Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Estimate for AES Earnings

The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) – Zacks Research increased their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of AES in a report released on Thursday, January 9th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.96 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 data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. AES had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 27.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AES. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of AES from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of AES from $24.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of AES to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised shares of AES to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of AES from $23.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.30.

AES Stock Performance

Shares of AES stock opened at $11.87 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The firm has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a PE ratio of 8.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.00. AES has a 12 month low of $11.57 and a 12 month high of $22.21.

AES Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.176 per share. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from AES’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AES’s payout ratio is presently 48.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Burney Co. purchased a new stake in AES in the fourth quarter worth approximately $577,000. Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings in AES by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 16,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares in the last quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. raised its holdings in AES by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 212,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,729,000 after purchasing an additional 33,887 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AES by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 22,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 4,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seed Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AES by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Seed Wealth Management Inc. now owns 14,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.13% of the company’s stock.

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.