American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $132.78 and last traded at $130.24, with a volume of 4034816 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $129.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen raised their price target on American Electric Power from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their price objective on American Electric Power from $124.50 to $117.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on American Electric Power from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.28.

American Electric Power Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $69.97 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $118.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.41.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.07 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 56.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total value of $575,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,082.86. The trade was a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Compound Planning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 11,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Claris Financial LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth about $312,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in American Electric Power by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,688,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $886,543,000 after purchasing an additional 313,123 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,928,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 196,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,682,000 after purchasing an additional 37,334 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

About American Electric Power

American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.