American Electric Power Co., Inc
.
AEP
reported first-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings per share of $1.15, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.23 by 6.5%. However, the bottom line improved 12.7% from $1.02 per share in the year-ago quarter.
The company reported GAAP earnings of $1.16 per share compared with the year-ago quarter’s $1.
Total Revenues
American Electric’s first-quarter revenues of $4.3 billion exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.1 billion by 4.9%.
Moreover, the reported figure improved 16.2% from the year-ago quarter’s $3.7 billion.
Quarterly Highlights
Total expenses in the quarter were $1,910.1 million compared with $1,841.5 million a year ago.
Operating income was $804.6 million, up 5.5% from $763 million in the year-ago quarter.
Segmental Performance
Vertically Integrated Utility Operations
: Operating earnings in the quarter increased to $270.4 million from $247.2 million in the year-ago quarter.
Transmission & Distribution Utilities
: Operating earnings were $114.4 million, down from $117 million in the year-ago quarter.
AEP Transmission Holdco
: This segment generated operating earnings of $172 million, up from $140.6 million in the first quarter of 2020.
Generation and Marketing
: Operating earnings were $32.1 million, down from $34.7 million in the year-ago quarter.
Corporate & Other
: Operating losses were $18.4 million compared with operating losses of $35.3 million in the year-ago quarter.
American Electric Power Company, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Financial Update
As of Mar 31, 2021, American Electric had cash and cash equivalents of $273.2 million compared with $392.7 million as of Dec 31, 2020.
Long-term debt was $30.2 billion as of Mar 31, 2021, compared with $29 billion as of Dec 31, 2020.
Cash used in operations was $117.2 million during first-quarter 2021 compared with the cash flow of $615.7 million in first-quarter 2020.
2021 Guidance
American Electric reaffirmed 2021 operating earnings guidance in the range of $4.5-$4.75 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 earnings, pegged at $4.67 per share, lies above the midpoint of the guidance range.
Zacks Rank
American Electric currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
.
A Recent Utility Release
NextEra Energy, Inc
.
NEE
reported first-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of 67 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 60 cents by 11.7%.
Upcoming Releases
Xcel Energy
XEL
is scheduled to announce first-quarter 2021 results on Apr 29. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share is pegged at 61 cents.
Dominion Energy
D
is scheduled to announce first-quarter 2021 results on May 4. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share is pegged at $1.08.
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