American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Wells Fargo & Company

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Cowen started coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.79.

American Electric Power Stock Up 6.1%

AEP stock opened at $122.11 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $112.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.55. American Electric Power has a fifty-two week low of $89.91 and a fifty-two week high of $122.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($0.01). American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 17.68%.The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.850-5.95 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,006 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $112,672.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,676 shares in the company, valued at $635,712. This trade represents a 15.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.65, for a total transaction of $543,250.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,443,567.70. The trade was a 10.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 11,006 shares of company stock worth $1,243,522 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its position in American Electric Power by 57.1% during the second 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. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its position in American Electric Power by 166.0% during the second quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.