Scotiabank Raises American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target to $90.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its target price boosted by Scotiabank from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock.

AEP has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group lowered American Electric Power from a neutral rating to a sell rating and dropped their target price for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Cfra reissued a buy rating and issued a $92.00 price target (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of American Electric Power from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $88.14.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $88.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $46.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $84.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.86. American Electric Power has a 12-month low of $69.38 and a 12-month high of $92.88.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 14.60%. The business had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. American Electric Power’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

About American Electric Power

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.