高盛：美洲公用事业_第三季度预览_重点关注负荷增长、监管和风暴影响；更新公用事业的基线倍数

Investment Rating - The report maintains a Buy rating on Sempra Energy (SRE), American Electric Power (AEP), Eversource Energy (ES), NextEra Energy (NEE), and Xcel Energy (XEL) [6][39][20][18][25] - Duke Energy (DUK) is rated Neutral [22][25] - Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) and WEC Energy Group (WEC) are also rated Neutral [27][33] - Ameren (AEE), Consolidated Edison (ED), Exelon (EXC) are rated Sell [6][9][39] Core Insights - The utilities sector is experiencing a shift in valuation, with the baseline P/E multiple increased to 17x from 16x, driven by rising power demand and decreasing interest rates [7][13] - The average total return for the coverage following the update is projected at 11% [5] - The report highlights strong growth expectations for Sempra Energy and Eversource Energy, with SRE expected to outperform consensus estimates by 5% for 3Q24 [5][20] - Duke Energy is anticipated to face challenges with a projected 6% downside to consensus estimates due to mild weather and one-time items from the previous year [5][22] Summary by Company Sempra Energy (SRE) - Rated Buy with a price target of $96, reflecting a 21% total return potential [6][39] - Expected strong growth at Oncor and potential updates on the Port Arthur LNG project [5][20] American Electric Power (AEP) - Rated Buy with a price target of $113, indicating a 19% total return potential [6][39] - Anticipated to benefit from regulatory updates and capital plan discussions [4][6] Duke Energy (DUK) - Rated Neutral with a price target of $120, reflecting a modest upside [22][25] - Expected to face headwinds from mild weather and lack of one-time benefits seen in the previous year [5][22] NextEra Energy (NEE) - Rated Buy with a price target of $86, indicating a 7.1% upside [21][20] - Strong long-term growth story with significant renewable capacity additions planned [18][20] Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) - Rated Neutral with a price target of $84, reflecting a 6.6% downside [27][32] - Potential for data center contracts to drive earnings growth [27][31] WEC Energy Group (WEC) - Rated Neutral with a price target of $96, indicating a 2% upside [33][38] - Regulatory risks in Illinois and Wisconsin are a concern [33][38] Eversource Energy (ES) - Rated Buy with a price target of $80, indicating a 30% total return potential [6][39] - Expected to benefit from ongoing capital investments and regulatory updates [6][39] FirstEnergy (FE) - Rated Buy with a price target of $49, indicating a 19% total return potential [6][39] - Focus on ongoing rate cases and potential impacts from capacity auctions [40][39]