Eastern Bank Purchases 18,357 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Key Points

• Eastern Bank increased its American Electric Power stake by 4.5% in the second quarter, purchasing 18,357 shares and bringing its total holdings to 424,212 shares valued at approximately $58 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.24% of AEP.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with AEP receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $141.00, although one firm recently downgraded the stock to “sell.”
• AEP reported quarterly EPS of $1.36, below the $1.48 estimate, while revenue rose 7% year over year to $5.45 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.95 per share, representing a 3.0% annualized yield.

Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 424,212 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,357 shares during the period. Eastern Bank owned about 0.08% of American Electric Power worth $58,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $415,526,000 after buying an additional 2,555,415 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 8,776.8% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,219,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $290,894,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194,198 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 5.2% in the fourth 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. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 118.2% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,585,605 shares of the company's stock worth $286,692,000 after buying an additional 1,400,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,316,688 shares of the company's stock worth $728,378,000 after purchasing an additional 937,346 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AEP shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $147.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $138.00 to $129.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Electric Power from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $141.00.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.4%

American Electric Power stock opened at $128.32 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.50. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $105.70 and a fifty-two week high of $140.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $131.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.93.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.12). American Electric Power had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 13.78%.The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.18%.

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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