American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock Has Average Price Target of $138.91

Key Points

• Analysts remain moderately bullish: AEP has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 23 firms, with 14 buys and 9 holds. The average 12-month price target is $138.91 versus a recent price of $127.14.
• Large power investments could support growth: AEP plans to invest about $4 billion in a Wyoming fuel-cell project tied to a 20-year Google agreement and may purchase up to 1.6 gigawatts of Mainspring generators. These initiatives target rising electricity demand from data centers but carry execution, financing, and balance-sheet risks.
• Financial results and dividend provide mixed signals: Quarterly revenue rose 7% year over year to $5.45 billion, but EPS of $1.36 missed estimates. AEP maintains a $0.95 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 3.0% yield, while analysts expect full-year EPS of about $6.39.

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $138.91.

AEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. UBS Group set a $139.00 target price on American Electric Power in a research report on Monday, September 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on American Electric Power from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, August 27th.

American Electric Power News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Growth opportunity from Google power agreement: AEP plans to invest approximately $4 billion in a Wyoming fuel-cell power project under a 20-year agreement with Google. The contract could provide long-term revenue visibility and position AEP to benefit from rising electricity demand from artificial-intelligence and data-center operations. AEP Plans $4 Billion Fuel Cell Power Plant for Google
• Positive Sentiment: Additional generation capacity: AEP also agreed to purchase up to 1.6 gigawatts of Mainspring linear generators, supporting its ability to serve large commercial loads and potentially expand regulated and contracted earnings over time. AEP in deal to buy up to 1.6 GW of Mainspring linear generators
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore remains bullish: Evercore ISI maintained a Buy rating on AEP, reinforcing the positive view around the company’s growth prospects and demand from large electricity customers. Evercore ISI remains a Buy on AEP
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp’s estimates were mixed: KeyCorp kept an Overweight rating and a $133 price target while raising its FY2026 EPS estimate to $6.42 and FY2027 estimate to $6.84. However, it lowered its Q3 estimate to $2.09 and made a minor reduction to its FY2030 forecast. KeyCorp estimate changes for AEP
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain divided: Goldman Sachs reaffirmed a Hold rating, tempering the more optimistic signal from Evercore and KeyCorp. Goldman Sachs reaffirms Hold rating on AEP
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and financing risk: The $4 billion fuel-cell investment and generator purchases require significant capital. Investors may remain concerned about construction execution, returns on investment, and the effect of added spending on AEP’s balance sheet.

American Electric Power Trading Up 2.3%

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $127.14 on Friday. American Electric Power has a 52 week low of $112.54 and a 52 week high of $140.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $122.64 and a 200 day moving average of $128.62. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $69.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.12). American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. American Electric Power'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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 6.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is 65.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Electric Power news, CAO Kate Dixon sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 15,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,982,000. The trade was a 11.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AEP. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $137,000. Avail Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth about $261,000. Carroll Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Carroll Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,814 shares of the company's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 6,503 shares of the company's stock worth $772,000 after acquiring an additional 936 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Capital Management LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management LLC now owns 56,389 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,999 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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