Wells Fargo & Company Cuts American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target to $102.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $104.00 to $102.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on AEP. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.27.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $96.51. 1,448,583 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,149,102. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.55. American Electric Power has a fifty-two week low of $74.97 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $100.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.12%.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 10,177.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,982,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,154 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 542.4% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,282,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,541,000 after buying an additional 1,927,234 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 221.9% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,715,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,140,000 after buying an additional 1,182,451 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 578.2% in the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 975,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,948,000 after acquiring an additional 831,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,586,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $739,303,000 after acquiring an additional 776,965 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.