AES Downgraded to ‘Equal Weight’ Following Takeover Agreement

The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) is included among the 11 Best Utility Stocks to Buy for Dividends in 2026.

AES Downgraded to 'Equal Weight' Following Takeover Agreement

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Together with its subsidiaries, The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) operates as a power generation and utility company in the United States and internationally.

The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) suffered a blow on March 6 when Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from ‘Overweight’ to ‘Equal Weight’, while also trimming its price target from $23 to $15.

The downgrade comes after The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) agreed to be acquired by a consortium led by BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT Infrastructure earlier this month. The consortium will acquire AES for $15 per share, implying a total enterprise value of $33.4 billion. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley had anticipated a potential transaction price in the low $20s per share and a total enterprise value around $38 billion. Moreover, AES is currently trading at almost 6% below the deal price, so investors do not expect another bidder to step in and make a competing offer for the utility.

While the $15 per share target represents the base case in which the current offer is approved, Morgan Stanley has another bull case of $18 per share for The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) in case another bidder steps in to compete for the company.

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