American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $98.27.

AEP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEP. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in American Electric Power by 2.0% in the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 3.8% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 0.6% during the third quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 19,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% during the third quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY now owns 5,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.1 %

AEP stock opened at $96.80 on Friday. American Electric Power has a one year low of $75.22 and a one year high of $105.18. The firm has a market cap of $51.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $99.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.55%.

About American Electric Power

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.