American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target Increased to $100.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $90.00 to $100.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada's target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.87% from the stock's previous close.

AEP has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com raised American Electric Power from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho downgraded American Electric Power from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $88.14.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $88.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,332,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,771,451. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.50. American Electric Power has a 1-year low of $69.38 and a 1-year high of $92.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.77.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 14.60%. The firm had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 7.8% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the company's stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 6,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, BLB&B Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 3,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Company 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.