American Electric (AEP) Q3 Earnings Beat, '19 EPS View Raised

American Electric Power Co., Inc. (NYSE:AEP) reported third-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings per share of $1.46, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.30 by 12.3%.

Moreover, the bottom line increased 15.9% from $1.26 in the year-ago quarter.

The company reported GAAP earnings of $1.49 per share compared with the year-ago quarter’s $1.17.

Total Revenues

American Electric’s third-quarter revenues of $4.30 billion, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.86 billion by 11.4%. The reported figure also declined 0.6% from the year-ago quarter’s $4.32 billion.

Quarterly Highlights

Operating expenses in the quarter were $1,941.1 million compared with $1,978.8 million a year ago.

Operating income was $944 million, up 30.8% from $721.5 million in the year-ago quarter.

Segmental Performance

Vertically Integrated Utility Operations: Operating earnings in the quarter increased to $437.9 million from $347.3 million a year ago.

Transmission & Distribution Utilities: Operating earnings were $133.9 million, down from $147.2 million a year ago.

AEP Transmission Holdco: This segment generated operating income of $126.1 million, up from $73.7 million in the third quarter of 2018.

Generation and Marketing: Operating earnings were $78.3 million, up from $41.1 million in the year-ago quarter.

Corporate & Other: Operating losses were $53.9 million against the operating earnings of $9.8 million in the year-ago quarter.

American Electric Power Company, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Financial Update

As of Sep 30, 2019, American Electric had cash and cash equivalents of $348.8 million compared with $234.1 million as of Dec 31, 2018.

Long-term debt was $24.55 billion as of Sep 30, 2019, compared with $21.65 billion as of Dec 31, 2018.

Cash flow from operations was $1,549.1 million during the first nine months of 2019 compared with $1,925.8 million in the first nine months of 2018.

2019 Guidance

American Electric has raised 2019 operating earnings guidance to $4.14-$4.24 per share from $4.00-$4.20. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 earnings, pegged at $4.17, lies below the mid-point of the company’s guidance.

Zacks Rank

American Electric currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Upcoming Releases

Exelon Corp (NASDAQ:EXC) is slated to report third-quarter 2019 results on Oct 31. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter’s earnings is pegged at $1.15 per share.

Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) is scheduled to report third-quarter 2019 results on Nov 1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in the quarter to be reported is pegged at 89 cents per share.

A Recent Utility Release

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) reported third-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings of $2.39 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.27 by 5.3%. Moreover, earnings grew 10.1% on a year-over-year basis.

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