American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Sunday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on AEP. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Williams Trading set a $137.00 price target on American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $115.00 to $132.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.88.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $131.92 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $121.46 and a 200-day moving average of $117.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.45. American Electric Power has a twelve month low of $97.46 and a twelve month high of $134.60. The firm has a market cap of $71.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.61.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.07 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The company’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.450 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 56.72%.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,351 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total transaction of $177,602.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,025,798.60. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total value of $575,350.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,082.86. The trade was a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,457 shares of company stock worth $1,295,273. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in American Electric Power by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter worth $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 330.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Optima Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About American Electric Power

American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.