American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $97.13.

A number of analysts recently commented on AEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $92.26 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.52. American Electric Power has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18. The company has a market capitalization of $49.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 57.2% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.