American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

AEP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Cfra reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $92.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group downgraded American Electric Power from a neutral rating to a sell rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $88.14.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $89.87 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. American Electric Power has a twelve month low of $69.38 and a twelve month high of $92.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.88 dividend. 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 3.92%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 7.8% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 6,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.