American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target Increased to $100.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

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

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on AEP. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho lowered American Electric Power from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Electric Power from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Guggenheim cut 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. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $88.14.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $88.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.37. American Electric Power has a 1-year low of $69.38 and a 1-year high of $92.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that American Electric Power will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other 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.