American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $123.00 to $130.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.10% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $112.00 to $108.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $125.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American Electric Power to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.50.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $120.26 on Thursday. American Electric Power has a 52-week low of $89.91 and a 52-week high of $122.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $64.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($0.01). American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 17.23%.The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.850-5.95 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that American Electric Power will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In related news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.65, for a total transaction of $543,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,443,567.70. The trade was a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,006 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $112,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $635,712. This represents a 15.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,006 shares of company stock valued at $1,243,522. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at approximately $568,042,000. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 30.4% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 19,631,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,145,130,000 after purchasing an additional 4,570,941 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in American Electric Power by 24.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 22,102,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,415,144,000 after purchasing an additional 4,323,569 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP lifted its position in American Electric Power by 176.3% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,004,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,526,000 after purchasing an additional 2,555,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ghisallo Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at approximately $153,524,000. 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.