American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Receives $141.43 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $140.7143.

Several analysts have weighed in on AEP shares. Wall Street Zen cut American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on American Electric Power from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Seaport Research Partners raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on American Electric Power from $138.00 to $129.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $125.73 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.13. American Electric Power has a 12 month low of $105.70 and a 12 month high of $140.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.12). American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.250-6.550 EPS. Equities analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,980,601,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,437,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,509,780,000 after buying an additional 1,514,865 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 14,661,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,690,659,000 after buying an additional 271,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 buying an additional 83,285 shares in the last quarter. 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.