Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock Price

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its target price raised by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $133.00 to $137.00 in a research report issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 9.02% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on American Electric Power from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Williams Trading set a $137.00 price objective on American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Siebert Williams Shank began coverage on American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $137.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research raised American Electric Power from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $136.10.

American Electric Power Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $125.66 on Friday. American Electric Power has a fifty-two week low of $97.46 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $125.69 and a 200 day moving average of $119.21.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 16.37%.The business had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.450 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that American Electric Power will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total transaction of $542,320.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,582,097.04. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,351 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total value of $177,602.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,025,798.60. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AEP. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $320,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 149.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in American Electric Power by 4.4% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 4,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,616,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,728,000 after acquiring an additional 114,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.