Sterling Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Sterling Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 98.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,032 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,158 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the first quarter worth approximately $320,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 149.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 95.7% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 79,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,209,000 after purchasing an additional 38,684 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AEP. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on American Electric Power from $141.00 to $138.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seaport Research Partners upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their price target on American Electric Power from $148.00 to $143.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.38.

American Electric Power Price Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $137.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $131.28 and a 200-day moving average of $127.64. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.39 and a 52-week high of $140.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 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.