BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price objective boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $123.00 to $125.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target suggests a potential upside of 4.94% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on AEP. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $128.00 to $137.00 in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Citigroup upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. BTIG Research started coverage on American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.39.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $119.12 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $117.31 and its 200-day moving average is $114.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.63. American Electric Power has a fifty-two week low of $97.32 and a fifty-two week high of $124.80.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.81 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 17.23%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Electric Power will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Electric Power news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total transaction of $575,350.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,898 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,082.86. This represents a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Optima Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 330.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.