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

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $141.0952.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on American Electric Power from $136.00 to $129.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on American Electric Power from $141.00 to $138.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, February 20th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $320,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 149.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 2,931 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 95.7% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 79,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,209,000 after purchasing an additional 38,684 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $129.23 on Friday. American Electric Power has a one year low of $100.72 and a one year high of $139.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $131.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.67. The company has a market cap of $70.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.07. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 16.29%.The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. American Electric Power’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that American Electric Power will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 55.80%.

About American Electric Power

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.