ProShare Advisors LLC Grows Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 38.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 934,734 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 257,904 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $107,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 113.4% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 73,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,502,000 after buying an additional 39,173 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 26,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the period. Spectrum Strategic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $508,000. Arrow Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrow Financial Corp now owns 8,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $991,000 after buying an additional 1,426 shares during the period. Finally, Dougherty & Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AEP. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research upgraded American Electric Power from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.57.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,351 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total transaction of $177,602.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,025,798.60. The trade was a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total transaction of $542,320.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,582,097.04. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $128.92 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $132.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.72 and a fifty-two week high of $139.44. The company has a market capitalization of $70.15 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.56.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.07. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 10.21%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 55.80%.

About American Electric Power

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.