Mizuho Downgrades AES (NYSE:AES) to Hold

AES (NYSE:AES) was downgraded by analysts at Mizuho from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on AES. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of AES in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of AES in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Argus raised shares of AES from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of AES from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $23.00 price target on shares of AES in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AES presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

AES Stock Performance

Shares of AES opened at $14.19 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $15.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.22. The stock has a market cap of $10.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.15, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.66. AES has a one year low of $9.46 and a one year high of $17.65.

AES (NYSE:AES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.13. AES had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that AES will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AES

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of AES by 6.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 68,745 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $854,000 after purchasing an additional 3,936 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in AES by 259.7% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 54,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 39,283 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of AES in the first quarter valued at about $190,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of AES by 763.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 146,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,824,000 after purchasing an additional 129,841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in AES by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 60,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 17,372 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.13% of the company’s stock.

AES News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AES this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results showed operational strength — AES reported $0.81 EPS vs. $0.68 consensus and revenue of $3.10B (slightly above estimates), with strong ROE and margin improvement. This supports the company’s standalone profitability and cash generation. AES earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: The buyout includes a meaningful premium to an earlier VWAP — the consortium’s $15.00/share cash offer was presented as ~40% above a pre‑rumor VWAP (July 2025 reference), offering immediate value vs. that baseline. The deal sponsors are blue‑chip infrastructure investors, which may increase odds of closing. Consortium press release
• Neutral Sentiment: Deal mechanics and timing — the transaction is an all‑cash $15.00/share take‑private offer (equity value ~$10.7B; enterprise value ~ $33.4B) with a closing window in late 2026/early 2027. That long close timeline creates time‑value and execution risk that investors must price. Deal terms PR
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/market context — Wall Street targets vary (median ≈ $16) and several firms had bullish coverage pre‑deal; the offer price sits below some investor expectations, which explains dispersion in market reaction. Quiver analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Market disappointment: investors sold aggressively when the $15.00 offer landed below prior takeover chatter and certain price expectations, producing a steep intraday drop as the stock repriced toward deal value minus closing risk. Fool: Why AES crashed
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and governance risk: multiple shareholder law firms have launched investigations alleging potential fiduciary‑duty issues and unfair pricing, increasing the chance of litigation that could delay or complicate closing. Johnson Fistel investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Execution & financing risk — long regulatory/financing timetable and large assumed debt in enterprise valuation introduce execution risk and a wider discount to the offer price for holders who prefer nearer‑term liquidity. InsiderMonkey M&A reaction

About AES

AES Corporation is a global energy company focused on the generation and distribution of electricity across diversified markets. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, AES develops, builds and operates power plants and distribution systems that serve residential, industrial and commercial customers. The company’s portfolio includes thermal, renewable and battery energy storage facilities designed to deliver reliable and sustainable electricity solutions.

Through its subsidiaries, AES operates a balanced mix of power generation assets, including natural gas, coal and renewables such as solar and wind.