American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Upgraded at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. UBS Group currently has $132.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $115.00.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on AEP. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $133.00 price objective on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Siebert Williams Shank initiated coverage on American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $137.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.53.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP opened at $133.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.26. American Electric Power has a 1 year low of $97.46 and a 1 year high of $134.60. The company has a market capitalization of $72.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.61.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,351 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total transaction of $177,602.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,025,798.60. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 72.2% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 330.2% during the third quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optima Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently 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.