Scotiabank Boosts American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target to $99.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price objective lifted by Scotiabank from $90.00 to $99.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised American Electric Power from a sell rating to a neutral rating and upped their price target for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Guggenheim upped their price target on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $90.46.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $101.79 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. American Electric Power has a 1 year low of $69.38 and a 1 year high of $104.35. The company has a market cap of $54.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $90.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.00.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Electric Power news, insider Therace Risch 5,274 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Therace Risch 5,274 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The disclosure for this trade can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of Stockton grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% in the second quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 5,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.9% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 7.8% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 0.9% in the second quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 13,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.8% in the second quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in 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.