American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $140.8571.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $132.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $148.00 to $143.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of AEP opened at $127.74 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.39. American Electric Power has a one year low of $101.11 and a one year high of $139.44. The company has a market cap of $69.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.80%.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 11.5% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at approximately $320,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 149.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 4.4% in the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 95.7% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 79,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,209,000 after acquiring an additional 38,684 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.