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

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $93.38.

A number of research firms have recently commented on AEP. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays increased their price target on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $97.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $91.90 and its 200 day moving average is $87.16. American Electric Power has a 52 week low of $69.38 and a 52 week high of $104.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.65.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.31%.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the firm’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 owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,140. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,140. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AEP. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 121,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,853,000 after buying an additional 7,371 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 50,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,096,000 after purchasing an additional 11,065 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 911 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 3,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.