Brokerages Set American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target at $97.13

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $97.57.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AEP shares. UBS Group increased their price target on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Scotiabank cut American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $93.51 on Friday. American Electric Power has a 12-month low of $75.22 and a 12-month high of $105.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $94.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 74.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,760,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,954 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,524,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,280,655,000 after acquiring an additional 352,588 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 18.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,163 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 8.1% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,543,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,191,000 after acquiring an additional 341,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 109.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962,125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

About American Electric Power

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.