American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $140.8571.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $127.74 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. American Electric Power has a 52 week low of $101.11 and a 52 week high of $139.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $130.83 and its 200 day moving average is $125.89. The company has a market cap of $69.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.07. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 10.21%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 55.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in American Electric Power by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,496,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,053,417,000 after purchasing an additional 828,588 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in American Electric Power by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,437,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,509,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,865 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in American Electric Power by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 14,661,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,690,659,000 after purchasing an additional 271,879 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,823,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,587,841,000 after purchasing an additional 83,285 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,626,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,225,381,000 after purchasing an additional 57,807 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.