American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP Shares Sold by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 16.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 43,367 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,512 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $5,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the 2nd quarter worth $6,980,601,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 715,613 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the second quarter worth about $1,678,638,000. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the second quarter valued at about $1,404,094,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in American Electric Power during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $680,638,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, CAO Kate Dixon sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,982,000. This represents a 11.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Key American Electric Power News

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC assumed coverage on American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $145.90 price target on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Electric Power from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded American Electric Power from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $133.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.00.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $130.21 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.54 and a 12-month high of $140.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

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

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

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