American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $97.57.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AEP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of AEP opened at $93.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $94.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.63. The stock has a market cap of $49.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.56. American Electric Power has a 12 month low of $75.22 and a 12 month high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 74.55%.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 57.2% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.8% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 0.6% during the third quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 19,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY raised its position in American Electric Power by 2.2% during the third quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY now owns 5,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Company Profile

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.