American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Upgraded at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $148.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $131.00 to $122.00 in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Williams Trading set a $137.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Argus raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of American Electric Power from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned 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 price target of $135.10.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $131.87 on Wednesday. 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 market cap of $71.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.90. American Electric Power has a 52-week low of $97.46 and a 52-week high of $134.60.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 56.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total value of $542,320.48. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,351 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total value of $177,602.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,025,798.60. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 10,457 shares of company stock valued at $1,295,273 in the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 72.2% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter worth $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter worth $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 330.2% in the third quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optima Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting American Electric Power this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AEP is planning roughly $72 billion of grid and renewable investments through 2030 to drive rate-base growth and long-term earnings visibility, supporting the utility-style growth story. American Electric Drives Growth Through Investments and Renewables
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore raised its price target on AEP to $153 and maintained an Outperform rating, signaling analyst confidence and potential upside relative to the current price. Evercore price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: AEP named Adrian Rodriguez president and COO of AEP Texas to strengthen regulatory and stakeholder engagement in a key growth market (he joins March 30). This is a governance/operations positive that could help execution on Texas initiatives. AEP Names Adrian Rodriguez
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results beat top-line and EPS expectations and AEP set FY2026 guidance (EPS 6.150–6.450), which underpins the stock’s fundamental case for steady regulated earnings growth. (Company release / earnings coverage)
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage consensus sits around a “Moderate Buy,” reinforcing analyst support for the shares. Consensus rating report
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative valuation pieces (FE vs. AEP) and sector write-ups are highlighting AEP as a dividend/value play versus peers—useful context but not immediate catalysts. FE or AEP valuation article
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage noting AEP has outperformed the utilities sector recently provides sentiment/context but is not a direct fundamental driver. Sector performance piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Several short-interest updates show anomalous/zero values and NaN changes—this appears to be a data glitch and is not a meaningful short-squeeze signal. (data items)
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts flag concentration risk from Retail Electric Providers (REPs) in some markets and note that proposed/new EPA rules could raise compliance costs or capital timing risk—these are regulatory and counterparty risks that could pressure returns. Zacks coverage on risks

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.