American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Lifted to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on AEP. Guggenheim lowered shares of American Electric Power from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $81.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a neutral rating to a sell rating and decreased their price target for the company from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Cfra reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $92.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $88.14.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ AEP opened at $90.95 on Tuesday. American Electric Power has a 12 month low of $69.38 and a 12 month high of $92.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $84.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.22.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 65.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 3.9% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.9% during 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 increased its stake in American Electric Power by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.