Arlington, Virginia-based The AES Corporation (AES) is a diversified power generation and utility company in the U.S. and internationally. With a market cap of $12.1 billion, it operates a generation portfolio of approximately 34,596 megawatts and distributes power to 2.6 million customers. The company is expected to announce its Q2 earnings after the market closes on Thursday, Aug. 1.
Ahead of the event, analysts expect AES to report a profit of $0.27 per share, up 28.6% from $0.21 per share reported in the year-ago quarter. The company has surpassed Wall Street’s EPS estimates in three of the past four quarters while missing on one other occasion. AES reported an EPS of $0.50 in the most recent quarter, exceeding the consensus estimates by 56.3%.
In fiscal 2024, analysts expect AES to report an EPS of $1.91, up 8.5% from $1.76 in fiscal 2023.
AES stock is down 10.9% on a YTD basis, substantially underperforming the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 16.3% gains and the S&P 500 Utilities Sector SPDR’s (XLU) 10.7% returns over the same time frame.
Despite forecasting full-year 2024 profit above market estimates and beating profit expectations, shares of AES dipped on Feb. 26 due to missing Q4 revenue estimates. However, the stock surged 4.2% on May 2 following its Q1 results, as the company exceeded Wall Street profit estimates with strong growth in its renewables unit and lower sales costs.
The consensus opinion on AES stock is cautiously optimistic, with a “Moderate Buy” rating overall. Among the 10 analysts covering the stock, six recommend a “Strong Buy,” one advises a “Moderate Buy,” and three suggest a “Hold” rating. This configuration is slightly less bullish than three months ago when seven analysts recommended a “Strong Buy.”
The average target price for AES stock is $22.86, indicating a potential upside of 33.8% from current price levels.
On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
