American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target Raised to $113.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $113.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.51% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.92.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $105.11 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $56.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $101.89 and its 200-day moving average is $99.08. American Electric Power has a one year low of $79.16 and a one year high of $109.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,310,000 after buying an additional 3,288 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 4,370 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in 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 period. J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% in 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 period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Company Profile

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.