WBI Investments LLC Takes Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Key Points

• WBI Investments LLC has initiated a new position in American Electric Power, acquiring 7,740 shares valued at approximately $846,000 during the first quarter of the year.
• Analysts have varying ratings for AEP, with a consensus target price set at $111.29, while recent upgrades range from $116 to $122.
• American Electric Power reported $1.43 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates and showing an 11.1% increase in revenue year-over-year.

WBI Investments LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $846,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Bank of New Hampshire bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AEP. Mizuho set a $116.00 target price on American Electric Power and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $122.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.29.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $108.33 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.46. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $109.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.24. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $89.91 and a 12 month high of $115.36.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $5.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.85 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.570-6.770 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.39%.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total value of $819,820.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,045,276.76. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Electric Power Profile

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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