StockNews.com Upgrades American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

AEP has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Guggenheim lowered shares of American Electric Power from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $81.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of American Electric Power from a neutral rating to a sell rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Mizuho lowered American Electric Power from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $88.14.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $90.95 on Tuesday. American Electric Power has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $92.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $84.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.22.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 65.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Company Profile

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.