Eastern Bank Increases Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Key Points

• Eastern Bank increased its stake in American Electric Power Company by 4.3%, owning approximately 386,961 shares valued at $40.15 million at the end of Q2 2023.
• Other major investors, such as Vanguard Group and Wellington Management Group, have also boosted their positions, indicating strong institutional interest in American Electric Power.
• American Electric Power aims for an FY 2025 earnings per share of $6.57-$6.77 and recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share, reflecting a 3.2% annual yield.

Eastern Bank increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 386,961 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 15,869 shares during the period. Eastern Bank owned about 0.07% of American Electric Power worth $40,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,269,781 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,711,519,000 after purchasing an additional 579,175 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 24.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 22,102,537 shares of the company's stock worth $2,415,144,000 after purchasing an additional 4,323,569 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 30.4% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 19,631,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,145,130,000 after buying an additional 4,570,941 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 8.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,237,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $572,332,000 after buying an additional 386,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth about $568,042,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AEP. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on American Electric Power from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Evercore ISI began coverage on American Electric Power in a report on Monday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 price target for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their price target on American Electric Power from $112.00 to $108.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on American Electric Power from $120.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $114.50.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ AEP opened at $117.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $111.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.13. The company has a market capitalization of $62.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.48. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $89.91 and a 12 month high of $119.06.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $5.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The company's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.570-6.770 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,006 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $112,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,676 shares in the company, valued at $635,712. This represents a 15.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.65, for a total transaction of $543,250.00. Following the sale, the director owned 40,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,443,567.70. This represents a 10.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About American Electric Power

American Electric Power Company, Inc, an electric public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation & Marketing segments.

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