American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Short Interest Update

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) saw a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 18,048,525 shares, a drop of 20.3% from the December 15th total of 22,650,297 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,432,010 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.3 days. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,432,010 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AEP. Siebert Williams Shank initiated coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $137.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $132.00 to $139.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In other news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total transaction of $575,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,898 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,082.86. The trade was a 16.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth about $320,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 149.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its position in American Electric Power by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 5,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the second quarter worth about $220,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of AEP opened at $119.96 on Tuesday. American Electric Power has a 12 month low of $96.80 and a 12 month high of $124.80. The stock has a market cap of $64.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $117.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.81 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.65 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 11.00%. American Electric Power’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.850-5.95 EPS. Equities analysts predict that American Electric Power will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.39%.

About American Electric Power

American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.