American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $88.14.

A number of analysts have recently commented on AEP shares. Cfra reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $88.60 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $84.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.86. American Electric Power has a 1 year low of $69.38 and a 1 year high of $92.88.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 14.60%. American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that American Electric Power will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AEP. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 222.0% during the 3rd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 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.