Barclays Increases American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target to $96.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price objective boosted by Barclays from $91.00 to $96.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 3.41% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on AEP. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $90.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.46.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ AEP traded up $1.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $99.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 852,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,250,098. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.75. American Electric Power has a twelve month low of $69.38 and a twelve month high of $99.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. American Electric Power’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $440,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $580,140. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other American Electric Power news, insider Therace Risch 5,274 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $440,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,140. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth about $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other 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.