American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Williams Trading set a $137.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $133.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.28.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $129.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $69.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. American Electric Power has a twelve month low of $97.46 and a twelve month high of $132.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $119.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.51.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.07 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.450 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In related news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total value of $575,350.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,082.86. This trade represents a 16.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 2nd quarter worth $256,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 462.1% in the 3rd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 52,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,958,000 after purchasing an additional 43,533 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 228.6% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 51,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,812,000 after acquiring an additional 35,938 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,802,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $809,557,000 after buying an additional 432,441 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 807.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 263,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,672,000 after buying an additional 234,689 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.