American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Barclays

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its target price cut by Barclays from $129.00 to $120.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. UBS Group set a $139.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Monday, September 21st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $147.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Scotiabank cut their price target on American Electric Power from $140.00 to $131.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on American Electric Power from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.91.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $126.13 on Monday. American Electric Power has a 12-month low of $112.54 and a 12-month high of $140.58. The firm has a market cap of $68.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50-day moving average is $122.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.34 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 13.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.250-6.550 EPS. Research analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 6.38 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 65.18%.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In other news, CAO Kate Dixon sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 15,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,982,000. This represents a 11.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,980,601,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in American Electric Power by 5.4% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,872,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,897,829,000 after buying an additional 715,613 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the second quarter worth $1,678,638,000. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the second quarter worth $1,404,094,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the second quarter worth $680,638,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Google signs 20-year power agreement: AEP plans to invest approximately $4 billion in a 702-megawatt Wyoming fuel-cell project under a long-term power purchase agreement with Google. The contract provides a large, committed customer for the project and improves visibility into future cash flows. Google signs 20-year PPA with AEP for 702MW Wyoming fuel cell project
• Positive Sentiment: Large demand pipeline could drive earnings: Analysts and bullish investors point to AEP’s reported 56-gigawatt demand pipeline, particularly from data centers, as a potential source of multi-year rate-base and earnings growth. AEP demand pipeline analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Additional generation capacity: AEP reached an agreement with Mainspring Energy for up to 1.6 gigawatts of mobile generation capacity. The units could help AEP bring power online faster to serve customers while longer-term infrastructure is developed. Mainspring Energy agreement with AEP
• Positive Sentiment: Federal grid support: AEP may secure up to $3.26 billion in federal funding to modernize its Texas grid, potentially reducing the burden of infrastructure investment and supporting regulated-utility growth. AEP Texas grid funding
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: KeyBanc upgraded AEP to Overweight from Sector Weight, adding to the favorable view of the company’s demand outlook. KeyBanc upgrades AEP

About American Electric Power

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) is a regulated electric utility holding company that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and other customers. Through its operating companies, AEP owns and manages a diverse portfolio of power plants, electric distribution systems and one of the largest transmission networks in the United States.

AEP serves customers across parts of 11 states, including Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.