Barclays Boosts American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target to $100.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its target price boosted by Barclays from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.43.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.2 %

AEP stock opened at $100.69 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market cap of $53.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.54. American Electric Power has a 1-year low of $72.01 and a 1-year high of $105.18. The business’s 50 day moving average is $100.43 and its 200-day moving average is $93.29.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 13.52%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEP. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 57.2% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 5,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 17.1% during the third quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 3.9% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.