American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 15.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,488,974 shares of the company’s stock after selling 267,325 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $195,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $147.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $136.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.71.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $133.07 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $131.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.04. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $105.70 and a 1-year high of $140.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.07. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 10.21%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 55.80%.

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.