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

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $87.08.

Several brokerages have weighed in on AEP. UBS Group downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Mizuho lowered American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Cfra reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price target (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Guggenheim lowered American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $85.08 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $82.18 and its 200 day moving average is $79.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market cap of $44.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. American Electric Power has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $94.86.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.03). American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 11.64%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 222.0% during the third quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.