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What's in Store for American Electric (AEP) in Q3 Earnings?

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American Electric Power Company, Inc (AEP - Free Report) is slated to release its third-quarter 2022 results on Oct 27, before the opening bell.

In the last reported quarter, the company delivered an earnings surprise of 1.69%. American Electric has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 1.95%, on average.

Factors to Note

During most of the third quarter, AEP’s service territories observed mixed weather patterns. While some parts observed warmer-than-normal temperatures, other regions experienced significant precipitation levels, resulting in wet weather conditions.

Also, some parts of its service territories experienced severe weather conditions, along with hail storms and significant flash floods, which may have disrupted the smooth flow of electricity to its customers. Such fluctuating weather patterns are likely to have caused a mixed impact on the company’s overall revenue performance in the to-be-reported quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter revenues is pegged at $4.91 billion, suggesting growth of 6.9% from the year-ago quarter.

As mentioned above, American Electric’s service territories witnessed severe weather patterns, accompanied by hailstorms and flash floods, in the third quarter, which may have caused infrastructural damage, thus increasing the company’s operating expenses for storm restoration and repair. This, in turn, is likely to have weighed on its bottom line in the to-be-reported quarter.

Nevertheless, moderate revenue growth and the company’s cost-saving initiatives must have boosted overall Q3 earnings.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.52 per share, indicating an increase of 6.3% from the prior-year reported figure.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for American Electric this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat, which is not the case here.

Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: AEP carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Stocks to Consider

Here are three other Utility players you may want to consider as these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this season:

Dominion Energy (D - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +4.59% and a Zacks Rank #2.

Dominion Energy boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 6.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Dominion Energy’s third-quarter sales and earnings is pegged at $3.90 billion and $1.09 per share, respectively.

Sempra Energy (SRE - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +6.97% and a Zacks Rank #3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its third-quarter earnings, pegged at $1.90 per share, implies an improvement of 11.8% from the prior-year quarter’s tally.

Sempra Energy boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 5.7%. SRE has a four-quarter earnings surprise of 4.37%.

FirstEnergy (FE - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +3.45% and a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its third-quarter earnings is pegged at 77 cents per share, indicating a decline of 6.1% from the prior-year reported figure.

First Energy boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 6.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FE’s third-quarter sales is pegged at $3.19 billion, suggesting growth of 2.2% from the prior-year reported figure.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.


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