Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Increases Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 52.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 851,281 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 291,506 shares during the period. American Electric Power comprises 1.6% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owned 0.16% of American Electric Power worth $95,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 176.3% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,004,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,526,000 after purchasing an additional 2,555,415 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 318.8% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,244,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,144,000 after buying an additional 947,418 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 26.1% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,694,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,510,000 after buying an additional 765,258 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,516,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,958,869,000 after acquiring an additional 653,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at $54,352,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Williams Trading set a $137.00 price target on American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $137.00 in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank assumed coverage on American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $137.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.87.

American Electric Power Stock Up 2.0%

AEP stock opened at $115.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $61.92 billion, a PE ratio of 16.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.32. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.67 and a fifty-two week high of $124.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 17.23%.American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. 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 Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total value of $575,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,980,082.86. This represents a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.