Gabelli Funds LLC Trims Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Gabelli Funds LLC decreased its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 609,350 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,100 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $68,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AEP. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 330.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 166.0% in the 2nd quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3,000.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $131.87 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.45. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $97.46 and a 1 year high of $134.60. The company has a market capitalization of $71.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.61.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on American Electric Power from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.10.

Key Stories Impacting American Electric Power

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

• Positive Sentiment: AEP is planning roughly $72 billion of grid and renewable investments through 2030 to drive rate-base growth and long-term earnings visibility, supporting the utility-style growth story. American Electric Drives Growth Through Investments and Renewables
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore raised its price target on AEP to $153 and maintained an Outperform rating, signaling analyst confidence and potential upside relative to the current price. Evercore price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: AEP named Adrian Rodriguez president and COO of AEP Texas to strengthen regulatory and stakeholder engagement in a key growth market (he joins March 30). This is a governance/operations positive that could help execution on Texas initiatives. AEP Names Adrian Rodriguez
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results beat top-line and EPS expectations and AEP set FY2026 guidance (EPS 6.150–6.450), which underpins the stock’s fundamental case for steady regulated earnings growth. (Company release / earnings coverage)
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage consensus sits around a “Moderate Buy,” reinforcing analyst support for the shares. Consensus rating report
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative valuation pieces (FE vs. AEP) and sector write-ups are highlighting AEP as a dividend/value play versus peers—useful context but not immediate catalysts. FE or AEP valuation article
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage noting AEP has outperformed the utilities sector recently provides sentiment/context but is not a direct fundamental driver. Sector performance piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Several short-interest updates show anomalous/zero values and NaN changes—this appears to be a data glitch and is not a meaningful short-squeeze signal. (data items)
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts flag concentration risk from Retail Electric Providers (REPs) in some markets and note that proposed/new EPA rules could raise compliance costs or capital timing risk—these are regulatory and counterparty risks that could pressure returns. Zacks coverage on risks

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total value of $575,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,351 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total value of $177,602.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,025,798.60. The trade was a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 10,457 shares of company stock worth $1,295,273 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.07% 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.