American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC cut its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 98.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,032 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,158 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Powers Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 4.5% in the first quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Welch Group LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 376,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,345,000 after buying an additional 51,267 shares during the last quarter. Corecam AG purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth about $255,000. J2 Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc now owns 4,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, bLong Financial LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $147.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $132.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.38.

American Electric Power Price Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $137.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.52. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.39 and a 12-month high of $140.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $131.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.64.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.