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

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $111.9286.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $122.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $116.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank increased 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 note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the 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 directly owned 10,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,045,276.76. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 138.5% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 30,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,769,000 after buying an additional 17,430 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at $666,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 43,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,216,000 after buying an additional 9,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at $424,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $108.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.90, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $109.91 and its 200 day moving average is $106.25. American Electric Power has a 12 month low of $89.91 and a 12 month high of $115.36.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 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 company had revenue of $5.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. American Electric Power’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.570-6.770 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.39%.

About American Electric Power

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.