American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 3,033,101 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 10% from the previous session’s volume of 2,761,385 shares.The stock last traded at $102.55 and had previously closed at $104.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.77.

American Electric Power Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $55.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.09.

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, meeting 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 previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 66.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.