5,100 Shares in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP Purchased by Independent Financial Group LLC

Independent Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 5,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 16,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,220,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 11.4% during the first quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 14,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.9% during the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 120,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,785,000 after acquiring an additional 2,243 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 0.9% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 51,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,804,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the first quarter worth $213,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $148.00 to $143.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.71.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $133.07 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $72.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50-day moving average of $131.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.04. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $105.70 and a 12-month high of $140.58.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.07. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 10.21%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 55.80%.

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.