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

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $124.50.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AEP. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $132.00 to $139.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $128.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their target price on American Electric Power from $112.00 to $108.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $126.00 price objective on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, October 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.65, for a total value of $543,250.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,898 shares in the company, valued at $4,443,567.70. The trade was a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,006 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $112,672.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $635,712. This represents a 15.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,006 shares of company stock valued at $1,243,522. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter valued at about $568,042,000. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 30.4% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 19,631,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,145,130,000 after purchasing an additional 4,570,941 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 22,102,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,415,144,000 after purchasing an additional 4,323,569 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 176.3% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,004,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,526,000 after purchasing an additional 2,555,415 shares during the period. Finally, Ghisallo Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $153,524,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $121.43 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $113.74 and a 200 day moving average of $108.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. American Electric Power has a twelve month low of $89.91 and a twelve month high of $122.85. The firm has a market cap of $65.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($0.01). American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 11.29%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.850-5.95 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 55.39%.

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.