American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP Shares Acquired by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 406,156 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,450 shares during the period. American Electric Power accounts for 1.4% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $48,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial raised its stake in American Electric Power by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 35,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,185,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the period. Elemental Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Elemental Capital Partners LLC now owns 24,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,919,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in American Electric Power by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 198,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,574,000 after buying an additional 4,522 shares during the period. Finally, Finward Bancorp lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.5% during the third quarter. Finward Bancorp now owns 4,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $531,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AEP shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $147.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $148.00 to $143.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $129.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded American Electric Power from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $133.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.91.

Key Stories Impacting American Electric Power

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

• Positive Sentiment: Google signs 20-year power agreement: AEP plans to invest approximately $4 billion in a 702-megawatt Wyoming fuel-cell project under a long-term power purchase agreement with Google. The contract provides a large, committed customer for the project and improves visibility into future cash flows. Google signs 20-year PPA with AEP for 702MW Wyoming fuel cell project
• Positive Sentiment: Large demand pipeline could drive earnings: Analysts and bullish investors point to AEP’s reported 56-gigawatt demand pipeline, particularly from data centers, as a potential source of multi-year rate-base and earnings growth. AEP demand pipeline analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Additional generation capacity: AEP reached an agreement with Mainspring Energy for up to 1.6 gigawatts of mobile generation capacity. The units could help AEP bring power online faster to serve customers while longer-term infrastructure is developed. Mainspring Energy agreement with AEP
• Positive Sentiment: Federal grid support: AEP may secure up to $3.26 billion in federal funding to modernize its Texas grid, potentially reducing the burden of infrastructure investment and supporting regulated-utility growth. AEP Texas grid funding
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: KeyBanc upgraded AEP to Overweight from Sector Weight, adding to the favorable view of the company’s demand outlook. KeyBanc upgrades AEP

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Kate Dixon sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,982,000. This represents a 11.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.4%

American Electric Power stock opened at $126.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.67 billion, a PE ratio of 21.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.48. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $112.54 and a twelve month high of $140.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a 50 day moving average of $122.63 and a 200-day moving average of $128.67.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.12). American Electric Power had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.250-6.550 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.18%.

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) is a regulated electric utility holding company that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and other customers. Through its operating companies, AEP owns and manages a diverse portfolio of power plants, electric distribution systems and one of the largest transmission networks in the United States.

AEP serves customers across parts of 11 states, including Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.