American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target Raised to $111.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price target hoisted by Barclays from $105.00 to $111.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

AEP has been the subject of several other reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.29.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of AEP stock opened at $113.58 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.41. American Electric Power has a 1 year low of $89.91 and a 1 year high of $114.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.40.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.16. American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The business had revenue of $5.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.39%.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total value of $819,820.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,045,276.76. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total transaction of $1,041,277.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,658 shares in the company, valued at $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293 in the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Bank of New Hampshire purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 57.1% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.