American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $141.00 to $144.00 in a report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.07% from the stock’s previous close.

AEP has been the topic of a number of other reports. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday. Barclays increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $137.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Argus lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of American Electric Power from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.95.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $134.49 on Monday. American Electric Power has a 12 month low of $97.46 and a 12 month high of $137.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.70. The company has a market cap of $73.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’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. Sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,351 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total transaction of $177,602.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,025,798.60. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total transaction of $542,320.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,582,097.04. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 72.2% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 7,300.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Optima Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 330.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Company Profile

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.