American Electric Current Debt

0HEC Stock   96.31  2.11  2.14%   
Net Debt is likely to drop to about 28.9 B in 2024. Short and Long Term Debt Total is likely to drop to about 32 B in 2024. American Electric's financial risk is the risk to American Electric stockholders that is caused by an increase in debt.
Change To Liabilities is likely to gain to about 590.7 M in 2024, whereas Total Current Liabilities is likely to drop slightly above 10.3 B in 2024.
  
Check out the analysis of American Electric Fundamentals Over Time.

American Electric Total Assets Over Time

American Electric Assets Financed by Debt

Typically, companies with high debt-to-asset ratios are said to be highly leveraged. The higher the ratio, the greater risk will be associated with the American Electric's operation. In addition, a high debt-to-assets ratio may indicate a low borrowing capacity of American Electric, which in turn will lower the firm's financial flexibility.

American Net Debt

Net Debt

28.92 Billion

At this time, American Electric's Net Debt is comparatively stable compared to the past year.

Understaning American Electric Use of Financial Leverage

American Electric's financial leverage ratio measures its total debt position, including all of its outstanding liabilities, and compares it to American Electric's current equity. If creditors own a majority of American Electric's assets, the company is considered highly leveraged. Understanding the composition and structure of American Electric's outstanding bonds gives an idea of how risky it is and if it is worth investing in.
Last ReportedProjected for Next Year
Net Debt43.6 B28.9 B
Short and Long Term Debt Total43.9 B32 B
Short Term Debt5.6 B4.8 B
Long Term Debt33.3 B24.8 B
Please read more on our technical analysis page.

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When running American Electric's price analysis, check to measure American Electric's market volatility, profitability, liquidity, solvency, efficiency, growth potential, financial leverage, and other vital indicators. We have many different tools that can be utilized to determine how healthy American Electric is operating at the current time. Most of American Electric's value examination focuses on studying past and present price action to predict the probability of American Electric's future price movements. You can analyze the entity against its peers and the financial market as a whole to determine factors that move American Electric's price. Additionally, you may evaluate how the addition of American Electric to your portfolios can decrease your overall portfolio volatility.

What is Financial Leverage?

Financial leverage is the use of borrowed money (debt) to finance the purchase of assets with the expectation that the income or capital gain from the new asset will exceed the cost of borrowing. In most cases, the debt provider will limit how much risk it is ready to take and indicate a limit on the extent of the leverage it will allow. In the case of asset-backed lending, the financial provider uses the assets as collateral until the borrower repays the loan. In the case of a cash flow loan, the general creditworthiness of the company is used to back the loan. The concept of leverage is common in the business world. It is mostly used to boost the returns on equity capital of a company, especially when the business is unable to increase its operating efficiency and returns on total investment. Because earnings on borrowing are higher than the interest payable on debt, the company's total earnings will increase, ultimately boosting stockholders' profits.

Leverage and Capital Costs

The debt to equity ratio plays a role in the working average cost of capital (WACC). The overall interest on debt represents the break-even point that must be obtained to profitability in a given venture. Thus, WACC is essentially the average interest an organization owes on the capital it has borrowed for leverage. Let's say equity represents 60% of borrowed capital, and debt is 40%. This results in a financial leverage calculation of 40/60, or 0.6667. The organization owes 10% on all equity and 5% on all debt. That means that the weighted average cost of capital is (.4)(5) + (.6)(10) - or 8%. For every $10,000 borrowed, this organization will owe $800 in interest. Profit must be higher than 8% on the project to offset the cost of interest and justify this leverage.

Benefits of Financial Leverage

Leverage provides the following benefits for companies:
  • Leverage is an essential tool a company's management can use to make the best financing and investment decisions.
  • It provides a variety of financing sources by which the firm can achieve its target earnings.
  • Leverage is also an essential technique in investing as it helps companies set a threshold for the expansion of business operations. For example, it can be used to recommend restrictions on business expansion once the projected return on additional investment is lower than the cost of debt.
By borrowing funds, the firm incurs a debt that must be paid. But, this debt is paid in small installments over a relatively long period of time. This frees funds for more immediate use in the stock market. For example, suppose a company can afford a new factory but will be left with negligible free cash. In that case, it may be better to finance the factory and spend the cash on hand on inputs, labor, or even hold a significant portion as a reserve against unforeseen circumstances.

The Risk of Financial Leverage

The most obvious and apparent risk of leverage is that if price changes unexpectedly, the leveraged position can lead to severe losses. For example, imagine a hedge fund seeded by $50 worth of investor money. The hedge fund borrows another $50 and buys an asset worth $100, leading to a leverage ratio of 2:1. For the investor, this is neither good nor bad -- until the asset price changes. If the asset price goes up 10 percent, the investor earns $10 on $50 of capital, a net gain of 20 percent, and is very pleased with the increased gains from the leverage. However, if the asset price crashes unexpectedly, say by 30 percent, the investor loses $30 on $50 of capital, suffering a 60 percent loss. In other words, the effect of leverage is to increase the volatility of returns and increase the effects of a price change on the asset to the bottom line while increasing the chance for profit as well.