Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Key Points

• Franklin Resources increased its stake in American Electric Power by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 54,045 shares and bringing its total holding to 1.37 million shares worth about $158.4 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on AEP remains constructive: analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with 13 Buy and 9 Hold ratings and an average price target of $141.10.
• American Electric Power recently reported better-than-expected earnings of $1.64 per share and revenue of $6.02 billion, and it paid a quarterly dividend of $0.95 per share, yielding about 3.0%.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,374,046 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 54,045 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.26% of American Electric Power worth $158,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 638 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,177 shares of the company's stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC now owns 23,439 shares of the company's stock worth $2,703,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company's stock worth $173,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 632 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on American Electric Power from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on American Electric Power from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Truist Financial cut their target price on American Electric Power from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore increased their target price on American Electric Power from $137.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $141.10.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $128.53 on Thursday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.72 and a 1-year high of $139.44. The company has a market capitalization of $69.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $131.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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