American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Upgraded 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 equities research analysts have also weighed in on AEP. Mizuho lowered American Electric Power from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $83.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $81.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of American Electric Power from a neutral rating to a sell rating and lowered their target price for the company from $75.50 to $73.00 in a report on Friday, March 8th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $88.14.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $89.87 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.04. American Electric Power has a 12-month low of $69.38 and a 12-month high of $92.88. 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 company has a market cap of $47.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. American Electric Power’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in American Electric Power by 3.9% in 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 stake in shares of American Electric Power by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 1.9% during the first 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 last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.5% in the fourth 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 boosted its position in American Electric Power by 1.5% in the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by 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.