American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Upgraded by Truist Financial to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Truist Financial upgraded shares of American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Evercore upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $137.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Argus upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.32.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.7%

AEP stock traded up $0.99 during trading on Monday, hitting $132.88. 229,339 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,364,824. American Electric Power has a 1 year low of $97.46 and a 1 year high of $137.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $131.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.96. The stock has a market cap of $72.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.07 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,351 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total value of $177,602.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,025,798.60. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total transaction of $542,320.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,263 shares in the company, valued at $5,582,097.04. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in American Electric Power by 105.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,379,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,243,000 after acquiring an additional 2,763,328 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its stake in American Electric Power by 176.3% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,004,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,526,000 after acquiring an additional 2,555,415 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 357.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,957,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,718,000 after buying an additional 1,529,662 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,437,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,509,780,000 after buying an additional 1,514,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 118.2% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,585,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,692,000 after buying an additional 1,400,547 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting American Electric Power

Here are the key news stories impacting American Electric Power this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Truist began coverage and set a Buy / $148 price target (?12% upside vs. the referenced price), and other notes indicate Truist upgraded the stock to strong?buy — this is a major positive catalyst for investor demand. Truist Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James raised its price target to $143 and maintained an Outperform rating, signaling another sizable analyst upward revision supporting upside expectations. Raymond James PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo published a forecast calling for strong price appreciation for AEP, adding reinforcement from a major bank that long?term returns may be attractive. Wells Fargo Forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Seaport Global upgraded AEP (coverage noted on MSN), another analyst vote that can boost buying interest. Seaport Global Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage pieces pointing to “power?grid momentum” and AEP’s role in the Nasdaq composite are drawing attention to the stock’s sector strength and fundamentals. Momentum Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target slightly to $136 (from $137) but kept an Overweight rating — a modest downward tweak that slightly reduces near?term upside expectations compared with other raises. Morgan Stanley Trim

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.