American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded American Electric Power (AEP) from a "hold" to a "sell" in a report released Saturday.
• Despite that downgrade, the analyst consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" (13 Buy, 9 Hold) with an average price target of $136.81 and several firms recently raising targets or ratings.
• AEP is trading near $133.66 with a market cap of about $72.6B and a PE of ~19.95; the company beat quarterly revenue and EPS estimates and issued FY2026 guidance of 6.15–6.45 EPS.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $148.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday, February 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $136.81.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.7%

AEP stock opened at $133.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.58. American Electric Power has a one year low of $97.46 and a one year high of $137.74. The company's 50 day moving average price is $131.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.56. 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 (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. The business's 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, analysts predict that American Electric Power will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,351 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total value of $177,602.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,025,798.60. The trade was a 8.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total transaction of $542,320.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,582,097.04. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 105.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,379,342 shares of the company's stock worth $595,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763,328 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 176.3% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,004,686 shares of the company's stock worth $415,526,000 after purchasing an additional 2,555,415 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 357.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,957,491 shares of the company's stock worth $225,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529,662 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,437,776 shares of the company's stock worth $3,509,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 118.2% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,585,605 shares of the company's stock worth $286,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400,547 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% 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.

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