Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Raises Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 84.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,075 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,166 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bank of New Hampshire purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total transaction of $819,820.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,045,276.76. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,173 shares of company stock worth $2,467,015. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.7%

AEP opened at $111.02 on Monday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $89.91 and a 12 month high of $115.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $108.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.95.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 17.68%.American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.570-6.770 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.39%.

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.