American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) PT Raised to $88.00 at Barclays

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its target price upped by Barclays from $84.00 to $88.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered 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 lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho cut American Electric Power from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $88.14.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.4 %

AEP stock opened at $88.60 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.10 and its 200 day moving average is $80.94. The firm has a market cap of $46.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. American Electric Power has a one year low of $69.38 and a one year high of $92.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.54.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in American Electric Power by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.9% during the first quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 6,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings 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. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.