Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Has $118.56 Million Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Key Points

• Crawford Investment Counsel trimmed its American Electric Power stake by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, but still held 1,028,170 shares worth about $118.56 million.
• Analysts remain constructive on AEP, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $141.10. Several firms recently raised their targets, including Wells Fargo and LADENBURG THALM/SH SH.
• AEP posted better-than-expected results in its latest quarter, with EPS of $1.64 versus estimates of $1.57 and revenue of $6.02 billion versus $5.72 billion expected. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.95, translating to a 2.9% yield.

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,028,170 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,605 shares during the quarter. American Electric Power comprises 1.9% of Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.19% of American Electric Power worth $118,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,496,895 shares of the company's stock worth $6,053,417,000 after buying an additional 828,588 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,437,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,509,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,865 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 14,661,858 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,690,659,000 after purchasing an additional 271,879 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,823,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,587,841,000 after purchasing an additional 83,285 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,626,841 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,225,381,000 after purchasing an additional 57,807 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AEP. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $132.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $148.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $141.10.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ AEP opened at $129.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.53. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $131.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.72 and a 52 week high of $139.44.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.72 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 16.29%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. American Electric Power's payout ratio is presently 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.

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