American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target Raised to $148.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price target lifted by Citigroup from $132.00 to $148.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

AEP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America cut shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $131.00 to $122.00 in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.29.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $130.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.56. American Electric Power has a 1 year low of $97.46 and a 1 year high of $139.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $132.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.72 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 10.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 6.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 55.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,351 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total value of $177,602.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,025,798.60. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total transaction of $542,320.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,582,097.04. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $320,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in American Electric Power by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, AXA S.A. grew its position in American Electric Power by 95.7% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 79,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,209,000 after buying an additional 38,684 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Company Profile

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.