American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in American Electric Power by 15.2% in the first quarter, selling 267,325 shares and leaving it with about 1.49 million shares worth roughly $195.2 million.
• Wall Street remains generally positive on AEP, with 13 Buy ratings and 9 Hold ratings; the consensus view is a Moderate Buy and the average target price is $141.71.
• AEP reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $1.64 and revenue of $6.02 billion, and it also declared a $0.95 quarterly dividend payable September 10 for a 2.9% annualized yield.

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 15.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,488,974 shares of the company's stock after selling 267,325 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.27% of American Electric Power worth $195,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,077,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisory LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 5,831 shares of the company's stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Financial Enhancement Group LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the company's stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc grew its stake in American Electric Power by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc now owns 4,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,905 shares of the company's stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Barclays upped their target price on American Electric Power from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $148.00 to $143.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $141.71.

American Electric Power Trading Up 2.0%

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

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

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

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