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

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $136.0952.

AEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus upped their target price on American Electric Power from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $121.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $131.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Electric Power 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 value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total transaction of $542,320.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,582,097.04. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 105.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,379,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763,328 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 176.3% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,004,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,526,000 after buying an additional 2,555,415 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in American Electric Power by 357.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,957,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,718,000 after buying an additional 1,529,662 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in 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 buying an additional 1,514,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 118.2% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,585,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400,547 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of AEP opened at $131.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.61. American Electric Power has a twelve month low of $97.46 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.22.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.450 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 56.72%.

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.