American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $88.92.

AEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group downgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $87.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $88.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.90. American Electric Power has a 1-year low of $69.38 and a 1-year high of $93.44. The company has a market cap of $45.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total transaction of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Electric Power news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $440,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,140. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at $563,476.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 128,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,831,000 after purchasing an additional 7,014 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 2,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,651,000. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 70,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,037,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.