Prospera Financial Services Inc Sells 17,680 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Prospera Financial Services Inc cut its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 41.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,712 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,680 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,496,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,053,417,000 after acquiring an additional 828,588 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,922,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,253,827,000 after acquiring an additional 406,445 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 26.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,084,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $684,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285,279 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 105.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,379,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,243,000 after acquiring an additional 2,763,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 8.0% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,223,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,683,000 after acquiring an additional 388,540 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $130.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.56. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.72 and a 52-week high of $139.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $131.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.72 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 16.29%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total transaction of $542,320.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,582,097.04. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on American Electric Power from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded American Electric Power from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays upped their target price on American Electric Power from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $148.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Argus increased their price target on American Electric Power from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.24.

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.