American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $98.27.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 60.3% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 49,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,285,000 after buying an additional 18,726 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in American Electric Power by 14.4% in the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 120,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,572,000 after purchasing an additional 15,138 shares during the period. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 13.2% in the second quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,730,000 after purchasing an additional 4,971 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in American Electric Power by 1,140.5% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 456,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,070,000 after purchasing an additional 419,870 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in American Electric Power by 2.1% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 263,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,697,000 after purchasing an additional 5,537 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of AEP stock opened at $96.31 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $99.86 and a 200 day moving average of $95.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market cap of $51.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.55. American Electric Power has a twelve month low of $75.22 and a twelve month high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 74.55%.

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power Company, Inc, an electric public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation & Marketing segments.