American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target Raised to $95.00 at BMO Capital Markets

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price objective increased by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $93.00 to $95.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.86% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on AEP. Barclays increased their price target on American Electric Power from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on American Electric Power from $92.00 to $86.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Guggenheim downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $75.50 to $73.00 in a report on Friday, March 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.62.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP traded up $2.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $88.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,752,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,744,028. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.51. American Electric Power has a 12-month low of $69.38 and a 12-month high of $92.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.67.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 11.64%. The firm had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. American Electric Power’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 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.