Whittier Trust Co. Increases Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 5.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 101,251 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,070 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $13,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Optima Capital LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in American Electric Power by 7,300.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on American Electric Power from $141.00 to $138.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $132.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $147.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.38.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $138.51 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.52. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.39 and a 12-month high of $139.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $131.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.72 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 10.21%. American Electric Power’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.80%.

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.