American Electric Power Co., Inc. (NYSE:AEP) reported second-quarter 2017 operating earnings per share (EPS) of 75 cents, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 82 cents by 8.5%.
Earnings also declined 21.1% from 95 cents reported a year ago.
Total Revenue
American Electric’s second-quarter revenues of $3.6 billion fell 7.7% from $3.9 billion in the year-ago quarter. The reported figure also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.7 billion.
Quarterly Highlights
Operating expenses in the reported quarter were $1,638.3 million compared with $1,717.1 million a year ago.
Operating income in the quarter was $748 million, down 13.1% from $860.5 million a year ago.
Segmental Performance
Vertically Integrated Utility Operations: Operating earnings in the quarter declined to $120.8 million from $209.4 million a year ago.
Transmission & Distribution Utilities: Operating earnings were $111.2 million in the quarter, down from $124.6 million a year ago.
AEP Transmission Holdco: This segment generated an operating income of $94.6 million, up from $43.9 million recorded in the second quarter of 2016.
Generation and Marketing: Operating earnings were $46 million, down from $70.7 million in the year-ago quarter.
American Electric Power Company, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
American Electric Power Company, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | American Electric Power Company, Inc. Quote
Financial Update
As of Jun 30, 2017, American Electric had $172.4 million in cash and cash equivalents compared with $210.5 million as of Dec 31, 2016.
Long-term debt was $19.55 billion as of Jun 30, 2017, compared with $20.26 billion as of Dec 31, 2016.
Cash flow from operations was $1,717 million in the first half of 2017 compared with $1,725.8 million in the prior-year period.
Guidance
American Electric reaffirmed its 2017 operating earnings guidance in the range of $3.55–$3.75.
Peer Releases
DTE Energy Company (NYSE:DTE) reported second-quarter 2017 operating earnings per share (EPS) of $1.07, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 97 cents by 10.3%. Operating earnings also grew 9.2% from the year-ago figure of 98 cents.
NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) reported second-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings of $1.86 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.76 by 5.7%. Reported earnings were also up by 11.4% year over year.
WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) reported second-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings of 63 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 59 cents by 6.8% and the year-ago figure of 57 cents by 10.5%.
Zacks Rank
American Electric currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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