American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

Several other analysts also recently commented on AEP. Scotiabank increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim lowered American Electric Power from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $81.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $88.14.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $88.60 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.77. American Electric Power has a 12 month low of $69.38 and a 12 month high of $92.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that American Electric Power will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 65.31%.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.