American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Receives $99.92 Consensus PT from Analysts

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $100.77.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank cut American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 4,370 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 436.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 5,771 shares during the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in American Electric Power by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.2 %

American Electric Power stock opened at $105.15 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $56.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. American Electric Power has a fifty-two week low of $79.16 and a fifty-two week high of $109.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

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.