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

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com 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 objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $96.43.

Several research firms recently weighed in on AEP. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America raised 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. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 6th.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $102.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.65. American Electric Power has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $105.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $100.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.97.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power will post 5.6 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in 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 worth $464,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Stockton raised its position in American Electric Power by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 5,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in American Electric Power by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 902 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.