American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Receives $127.29 Consensus PT from Analysts

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $127.1316.

Several research firms recently weighed in on AEP. Bank of America cut shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $131.00 to $122.00 in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $128.00 to $137.00 in a report on Monday, November 17th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price target on American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.5%

American Electric Power stock opened at $119.96 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $64.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $117.93 and a 200-day moving average of $114.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.53. American Electric Power has a one year low of $96.80 and a one year high of $124.80.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.65 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 11.00%. American Electric Power’s revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.850-5.95 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.39%.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total transaction of $575,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,082.86. The trade was a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 330.2% during the third quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Advantage Trust Co lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 57.1% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 166.0% in the 2nd quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% 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.