American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 6.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,998,367 shares of the company’s stock after selling 442,354 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 1.10% of American Electric Power worth $786,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,032,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 293,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,869,000 after purchasing an additional 8,302 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 63,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,325,000 after purchasing an additional 9,532 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 114,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,171,000 after purchasing an additional 7,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 121.9% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 25,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,989,000 after purchasing an additional 14,241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AEP. Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on American Electric Power from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.71.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $133.02 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $72.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.52. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $105.70 and a 52 week high of $140.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.60.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 55.80%.

American Electric Power Company Profile

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.