Welch Group LLC Increases Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Key Points

• Welch Group LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 15.8% in Q1, buying 51,267 additional shares and bringing its total to 376,452 shares worth about $49.3 million.
• American Electric Power’s stock has drawn mixed but generally positive analyst attention, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.19.
• The utility reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.64 versus $1.57 expected and revenue of $6.02 billion versus $5.72 billion expected, while also maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.95 per share.

Welch Group LLC increased its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 15.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 376,452 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 51,267 shares during the quarter. American Electric Power accounts for 1.9% of Welch Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Welch Group LLC owned about 0.07% of American Electric Power worth $49,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 141,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,275,000 after acquiring an additional 5,314 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $32,032,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 293,033 shares of the company's stock worth $33,869,000 after purchasing an additional 8,302 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 983.0% in the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 63,875 shares of the company's stock worth $7,365,000 after purchasing an additional 57,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 63,526 shares of the company's stock worth $7,325,000 after purchasing an additional 9,532 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on AEP shares. UBS Group upped their price target on American Electric Power from $132.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on American Electric Power from $141.00 to $138.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Electric Power from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on American Electric Power from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $141.19.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $138.83 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.06 and a 1 year high of $139.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.53. The company's 50-day moving average is $130.77 and its 200 day moving average is $126.46. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.72 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 10.21%. American Electric Power's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.80%.

American Electric Power 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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