BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock Price

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its target price boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $136.00 to $141.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Siebert Williams Shank began coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $137.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 1st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.33.

American Electric Power Trading Down 1.3%

American Electric Power stock opened at $134.46 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.58. American Electric Power has a 12-month low of $97.46 and a 12-month high of $137.74.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.07 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The business’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.450 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.72%.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total transaction of $542,320.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,582,097.04. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,351 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total transaction of $177,602.46. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth approximately $320,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 149.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in American Electric Power by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. lifted its position in American Electric Power by 95.7% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 79,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,209,000 after buying an additional 38,684 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.