American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $139.83

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $139.83.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $120.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. KeyCorp raised shares of American Electric Power from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $133.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $153.00 price objective on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In other news, CAO Kate Dixon sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was 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 owned 15,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,982,000. This represents a 11.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cornermen Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth $612,000. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 120,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,261,000 after acquiring an additional 20,847 shares during the last quarter. United Southern Bank Trust Department purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the third quarter worth about $104,000. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 12.9% in the third quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 6,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $828,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP opened at $129.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $124.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Electric Power has a twelve month low of $112.54 and a twelve month high of $140.58. The company has a market capitalization of $70.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.46.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.19. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 10.52%. The company had revenue of $6.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. American Electric Power’s revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 6.44 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a $0.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.68%.

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) is an electric utility holding company based in Columbus, Ohio. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, it generates or purchases electricity and delivers power to residential, commercial and industrial customers. AEP’s operations include electric generation, transmission and distribution, with service territories across 11 states: Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.