American Electric Power Company, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.88 (NASDAQ:AEP)

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 24th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.88 per share on Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th.

American Electric Power has raised its dividend payment by an average of 5.9% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 14 years. American Electric Power has a payout ratio of 59.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect American Electric Power to earn $5.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 59.2%.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $98.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.81 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.53. American Electric Power has a 12-month low of $69.38 and a 12-month high of $104.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $90.86 and its 200-day moving average is $86.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 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 11.31%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 $580,140. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total transaction of $518,910.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com raised American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $90.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.00.

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.