Analysts Set American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target at $96.43

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $96.79.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AEP shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 57.2% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the first quarter worth $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the first quarter worth $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 935.9% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 404 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $101.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $53.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.54. American Electric Power has a 12-month low of $69.38 and a 12-month high of $105.18. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $100.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.11.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.31%.

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.