American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Receives $124.50 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $124.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AEP shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Citigroup boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Mizuho boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $119.92 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.41. American Electric Power has a 12 month low of $89.91 and a 12 month high of $122.85.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.81 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.65 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 17.23%.American Electric Power’s revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.850-5.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Electric Power will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 55.39%.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In related news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.65, for a total transaction of $543,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,898 shares in the company, valued at $4,443,567.70. The trade was a 10.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,006 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $112,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $635,712. This represents a 15.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 11,006 shares of company stock valued at $1,243,522 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 57.1% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 166.0% in the 2nd quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.