American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• American Electric Power has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 22 covering analysts, with 13 buy ratings and 9 hold ratings. The average 1-year price target is about $141.38.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.64 versus estimates of $1.57 and revenue of $6.02 billion versus expectations of $5.72 billion. Revenue rose 10.2% year over year.
• AEP also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.95 per share, equal to an annualized dividend of $3.80 and a yield of about 2.8%. The stock has traded between $103.03 and $140.58 over the past 52 weeks.

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $141.3810.

AEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on American Electric Power from $141.00 to $138.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 95.4% during the 2nd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 0.8% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 121,230 shares of the company's stock worth $16,586,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.7% in the second quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 4,730 shares of the company's stock worth $647,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the second quarter worth $512,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 118.0% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $135.90 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.52. American Electric Power has a 52-week low of $103.03 and a 52-week high of $140.58.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. The firm's 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. Equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.80%.

American Electric Power Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.