Royal Bank of Canada Raises American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target to $100.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its target price increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $81.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho cut American Electric Power from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $83.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Cfra reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $92.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $88.14.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP opened at $88.60 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $46.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $84.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.94. 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 earnings results 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 business had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 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.