First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Sells 46,570 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. reduced its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 89.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,211 shares of the company’s stock after selling 46,570 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 141,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,275,000 after acquiring an additional 5,314 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,032,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 293,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,869,000 after purchasing an additional 8,302 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 63,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,325,000 after purchasing an additional 9,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. grew its stake in American Electric Power by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 114,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,171,000 after buying an additional 7,833 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on American Electric Power from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on American Electric Power from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.71.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $135.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.22. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $105.70 and a 12 month high of $140.58.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.07. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 10.21%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. Analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.80%.

Key Stories Impacting American Electric Power

Here are the key news stories impacting American Electric Power this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised several forward EPS estimates for American Electric Power, including FY2026, FY2028, FY2029, and FY2030, signaling confidence in the company’s longer-term earnings growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Other coverage highlighted American Electric Power as one of the utilities names analysts are bullish on, and it was also featured as a defensive stock for stability, which can attract investors looking for lower-volatility holdings. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp’s Q2 estimate for AEP came in at $1.50 per share, while consensus full-year earnings remain around $6.35 per share; investors may be waiting for the company’s actual results next week to see whether it can meet or beat expectations. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed 0 shares short, so there is no meaningful bearish positioning signal from this report.
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets issued a pessimistic outlook on AEP’s stock price, which may be tempering enthusiasm despite the broader bullish analyst tone. Article Title

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.