American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Sunday.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on AEP. TD Cowen increased their target price on American Electric Power from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, February 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $124.50 to $117.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $132.00 in a report on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.53.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ AEP opened at $133.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.62. American Electric Power has a 52 week low of $97.46 and a 52 week high of $134.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $120.75 and a 200-day moving average of $117.23.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.07 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 16.37%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.450 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,351 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total value of $177,602.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,025,798.60. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of American Electric Power 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,898 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,082.86. This represents a 16.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,496,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,053,417,000 after purchasing an additional 828,588 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,437,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,509,780,000 after buying an additional 1,514,865 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in American Electric Power by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 14,661,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,690,659,000 after buying an additional 271,879 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,823,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,587,841,000 after acquiring an additional 83,285 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,626,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,225,381,000 after acquiring an additional 57,807 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Company Profile

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.