Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 105,849 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,283,111 shares of the company’s stock after selling 105,849 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $152,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,980,601,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in American Electric Power by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,872,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,897,829,000 after buying an additional 715,613 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the second quarter worth approximately $1,678,638,000. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the second quarter worth about $1,404,094,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 2nd quarter valued at $680,638,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Electric Power from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $141.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group set a $135.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Electric Power news, CAO Kate Dixon sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 15,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,982,000. The trade was a 11.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

More American Electric Power News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AEP reported third-quarter earnings of $2.23 per share, above the $2.04 analyst consensus, while revenue reached $6.83 billion versus expectations of $6.55 billion. Revenue increased 13.7% year over year. AEP Third-Quarter Earnings Results
• Positive Sentiment: The utility raised its long-term operating earnings growth outlook to 9%-11% annually for 2027-2031, backed by a five-year capital plan totaling approximately $100 billion. AEP Growth Outlook and Capital Plan
• Positive Sentiment: AEP is increasing planned investment in generation and transmission by 30% to capitalize on large-load growth, including data-center demand. Management cited 84 gigawatts of contracted load, improving visibility into future electricity sales. AEP Investment Plan Increase
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts responded favorably: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $149 with an overweight rating, while BMO Capital increased its target to $137. Jacobs was also selected to advance AEP’s transmission modernization program. Wells Fargo AEP Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: West Virginia’s push to attract data centers could create additional demand for AEP’s power-generation and transmission assets, although the broader regulatory and political debate around data centers remains a consideration. West Virginia Data-Center Development
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, coverage noted tighter margins, and Mizuho maintained a neutral rating. The scale of AEP’s capital program also increases financing, execution and regulatory risks. AEP Margins and Earnings Reaction

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $130.21 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $123.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.46. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $112.54 and a 52-week high of $140.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.51.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.55 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 10.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.97 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 61.39%.

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) is an electric utility holding company that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers. Through its operating companies, AEP provides regulated electric service and manages power generation assets using a mix of energy resources, including natural gas, coal, nuclear, hydroelectric and renewable energy.

AEP operates one of the largest electric transmission systems in the United States and supplies electricity across portions of Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.