American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Receives $99.92 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $100.77.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AEP. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of AEP opened at $105.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $102.58 and its 200 day moving average is $99.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. American Electric Power has a fifty-two week low of $79.16 and a fifty-two week high of $109.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 5.87 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 Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AEP. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 6,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 27,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,572,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in American Electric Power by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 4,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.