COMPARE · Data as of August 21, 2026
AEP vs CWEN
Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. AEP scored 63.3, CWEN scored 53.6 — AEP leads.
Compare another set
AEP
American Electric Power Company, Inc.
63.3
$120.94 · $65.8B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
9.7
AEP leads
CWEN
Clearway Energy, Inc.
53.6
$32.56 · $8.0B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
- Fastest growthAEP+10.9%
- Strongest balance sheetAEP1.61
- Highest qualityCWEN54 / 100
- Largest discount to fair valueCWEN-54%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
AEP
stronger →← stronger
CWEN
48
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
54
84
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
61
64
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
47
AEP is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
AEP
CWEN
-$2.4bF
FCF
$671mC+
+10.9%B
Rev
+9.9%B
1.61C+
D/E
1.77C+
2.9xB
P/S
—
2.15C
PEG
3.67D
—
P/E
37.9xD
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
AEP
CWEN
—
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
54% below
—
Growth the price implies10-yr FCF · lower = less priced in
~-4%/yr
—
1-yr DCF upside
+65%
—
5-yr DCF upside
+117%
—
10-yr DCF upside
+227%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
AEP
Why this score
- Short track record
CWEN
Why this score
- Raising its dividend
The companies
AEPAmerican Electric Power Company, Inc.
Why now
Utilities - Regulated Electric · market cap $65.8b. 14% off the 52-week high of $140.58. Revenue growing +11%, comfortably above the S&P median. 20 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $144.20 (implying +19% upside).
Moat
Net margin 14% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 10% meets the long-run market sustainable threshold — solid but not differentiated; the durability comes from elsewhere. $65.8b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
Free cash flow is negative (-$2.4b) — capital raises or debt issuance likely required; dilution / leverage risk.
CWENClearway Energy, Inc.
Why now
Utilities - Renewable · market cap $8.0b. Down 22% from 52-week high of $41.74 — deep drawdown territory. 12 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $43.50 (implying +34% upside).
Moat
Free cash flow runs well ahead of reported net income — non-cash charges (depreciation, intangible amortization) are holding down GAAP earnings while cash generation stays strong.
Risk
Dividend payout 212% of earnings on a 5.5% yield — distribution coverage is thin; one earnings stumble could force a dividend cut. Trailing P/E 38x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates. ROE 2% is below the long-run sustainable threshold of ~10% — capital efficiency would need to improve for the equity base to compound at the market rate.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where AEP and CWEN diverge
On the headline score the gap is 9.7 points in favor of AEP. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
- GrowthAEP 83.9 · CWEN 60.8AEP +23.1
- ValueAEP 63.7 · CWEN 46.9AEP +16.8
- QualityAEP 47.6 · CWEN 54.0CWEN +6.4
Pillars run 0–100 against sector peers, so a score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.