American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $126.8684.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Electric Power from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.50 to $124.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Williams Trading set a $137.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, October 30th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,006 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $112,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $635,712. This represents a 15.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total value of $575,350.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,082.86. This represents a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,006 shares of company stock valued at $1,883,522. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the 2nd quarter valued at about $256,000. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 7.3% in the second quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 68,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,080,000 after acquiring an additional 4,616 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 5.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,802,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $809,557,000 after acquiring an additional 432,441 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the second quarter valued at about $258,000. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,722,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of AEP opened at $114.49 on Friday. American Electric Power has a twelve month low of $89.91 and a twelve month high of $124.80. The stock has a market cap of $61.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $118.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.09.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.81 by ($0.01). American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 11.00%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 analysts forecast that American Electric Power will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 55.39%.

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.