American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $135.0952.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $133.00 price target on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank began coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $137.00 price objective for the company.

Key American Electric Power News

Here are the key news stories impacting American Electric Power this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore raised its price target on AEP to $153 and kept an “outperform” rating, implying roughly 16% upside from recent levels — a clear bullish analyst signal that can support buying interest. Evercore raises AEP price target to $153
• Positive Sentiment: Ladenburg Thalmann upgraded AEP from Neutral to Buy and set a $148 target (about a low-double-digit percent upside). Upgrades like this can attract institutional flows. Ladenburg Thalmann upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Argus Research reiterated a Buy stance and raised its price target (Argus boost to $140 reported), reinforcing analyst conviction in AEP’s earnings and regulated utility growth profile. Argus boosts AEP target Argus sticks to buy
• Positive Sentiment: Media pieces note AEP is outperforming the utility sector recently and analysts remain moderately optimistic — narrative that can support continued relative strength vs. peers. AEP outperforming utilities
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation comparison articles (FE vs AEP) are circulating; they provide context for value investors but are unlikely to move the stock materially on their own. FE or AEP: Which Is the Better Value Stock? Zacks FE vs AEP comparison
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports show anomalous zero/NaN values and a 0.0 days-to-cover ratio — this appears to be a data glitch rather than a genuine surge in short activity, so it’s not a meaningful driver for the stock. (Multiple brief notices reported the same zero/NaN figures.)

American Electric Power Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $132.04 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $122.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.75. American Electric Power has a 52-week low of $97.46 and a 52-week high of $134.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $71.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.61.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.72%.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In related news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,082.86. The trade was a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total value of $542,320.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,582,097.04. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 10,457 shares of company stock worth $1,295,273 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 105.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,379,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,243,000 after buying an additional 2,763,328 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 176.3% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,004,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,526,000 after acquiring an additional 2,555,415 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 357.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,957,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529,662 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,437,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,509,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 118.2% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,585,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400,547 shares during the period. 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.