American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target Raised to $130.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $123.00 to $130.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $112.00 to $108.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $116.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.50.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $120.26 on Thursday. American Electric Power has a 52 week low of $89.91 and a 52 week high of $122.85. The firm has a market cap of $64.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.52. 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 (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($0.01). American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 17.23%.The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. American Electric Power’s revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.850-5.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 55.39%.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In related news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.52, for a total transaction of $587,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,898 shares in the company, valued at $4,218,732.96. This trade represents a 12.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,006 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $112,672.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $635,712. This represents a 15.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,006 shares of company stock worth $1,243,522. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth approximately $568,042,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 30.4% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 19,631,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,145,130,000 after buying an additional 4,570,941 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in American Electric Power by 24.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 22,102,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,415,144,000 after buying an additional 4,323,569 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its position in American Electric Power by 176.3% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,004,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,526,000 after buying an additional 2,555,415 shares during the period. Finally, Ghisallo Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth approximately $153,524,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.