Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,537 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,157 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $6,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 141,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,275,000 after acquiring an additional 5,314 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 293,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,869,000 after acquiring an additional 8,302 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 983.0% in the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 63,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,365,000 after acquiring an additional 57,977 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 114,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,171,000 after acquiring an additional 7,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,713,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,696,000 after acquiring an additional 38,758 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $137.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $141.00 to $138.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $132.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.10.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $127.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.72 and a 12 month high of $139.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $131.53 and its 200 day moving average is $125.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.80%.

About American Electric Power

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.