American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $100.77.

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEP. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after buying an additional 4,370 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings 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 worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 5,771 shares during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after acquiring an additional 19,081 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $106.58 on Tuesday. American Electric Power has a 1 year low of $79.16 and a 1 year high of $110.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $56.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $104.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.32.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.