BMO Capital Markets Increases American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target to $95.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price objective upped by BMO Capital Markets from $93.00 to $95.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on AEP. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of American Electric Power from a neutral rating to a sell rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $92.00 to $86.00 and set a sector outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com cut American Electric Power from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho cut American Electric Power from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Cfra reissued a buy rating and issued a $92.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $88.14.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $88.60 on Wednesday. American Electric Power has a twelve month low of $69.38 and a twelve month high of $92.88. The company has a market capitalization of $46.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $84.10 and a 200 day moving average of $80.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 14.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AEP. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.9% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 6,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

About American Electric Power

American Electric Power Company, Inc, an electric public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation & Marketing segments.