American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $109.76 and last traded at $108.82, with a volume of 524706 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.77.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $58.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 6,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $610,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 27,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,572,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 4,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power Company, Inc, an electric public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation & Marketing segments.