Empowered Funds LLC Increases Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 93,253 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,237 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $12,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,496,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,053,417,000 after acquiring an additional 828,588 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,437,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,509,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,865 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 14,661,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,690,659,000 after purchasing an additional 271,879 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,823,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,587,841,000 after purchasing an additional 83,285 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,626,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,225,381,000 after purchasing an additional 57,807 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AEP. Mizuho increased their target price on American Electric Power from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.71.

American Electric Power Price Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $129.65 on Thursday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $105.70 and a 52-week high of $140.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $131.91 and a 200-day moving average of $129.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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, analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 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.