American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $97.13.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AEP. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank downgraded American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of AEP stock opened at $92.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.56. American Electric Power has a 1 year low of $75.22 and a 1 year high of $105.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.55%.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEP. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 57.2% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 2.0% during the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.8% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Garrison Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 0.6% in the third quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 19,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY now owns 5,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.