American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP Stock Holdings Boosted by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 612,026 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,709 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $72,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the second quarter valued at about $6,980,601,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the second quarter worth about $2,278,000. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,448,000. Bellars Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,377,000. Finally, Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,208,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other news, CAO Kate Dixon sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 15,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,982,000. The trade was a 11.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting American Electric Power

Here are the key news stories impacting American Electric Power this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AEP reported third-quarter earnings of $2.23 per share, above the $2.04 analyst consensus, while revenue reached $6.83 billion versus expectations of $6.55 billion. Revenue increased 13.7% year over year. AEP Third-Quarter Earnings Results
• Positive Sentiment: The utility raised its long-term operating earnings growth outlook to 9%-11% annually for 2027-2031, backed by a five-year capital plan totaling approximately $100 billion. AEP Growth Outlook and Capital Plan
• Positive Sentiment: AEP is increasing planned investment in generation and transmission by 30% to capitalize on large-load growth, including data-center demand. Management cited 84 gigawatts of contracted load, improving visibility into future electricity sales. AEP Investment Plan Increase
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts responded favorably: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $149 with an overweight rating, while BMO Capital increased its target to $137. Jacobs was also selected to advance AEP’s transmission modernization program. Wells Fargo AEP Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: West Virginia’s push to attract data centers could create additional demand for AEP’s power-generation and transmission assets, although the broader regulatory and political debate around data centers remains a consideration. West Virginia Data-Center Development
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, coverage noted tighter margins, and Mizuho maintained a neutral rating. The scale of AEP’s capital program also increases financing, execution and regulatory risks. AEP Margins and Earnings Reaction

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $141.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $129.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.00.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $130.21 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $70.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $123.35 and a 200-day moving average of $127.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $112.54 and a 1-year high of $140.58.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.55 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 14.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.97 per share. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.39%.

About American Electric Power

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) is an electric utility holding company that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers. Through its operating companies, AEP provides regulated electric service and manages power generation assets using a mix of energy resources, including natural gas, coal, nuclear, hydroelectric and renewable energy.

AEP operates one of the largest electric transmission systems in the United States and supplies electricity across portions of Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.