Brokerages Set American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Target Price at $98.00

Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $98.00.

Several analysts recently weighed in on AEP shares. Bank of America raised American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Scotiabank downgraded American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 10,177.1% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,982,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,154 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 109.5% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962,125 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 4.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,760,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,954 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 18.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,549,000 after buying an additional 1,087,163 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at about $80,207,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $99.36 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $52.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.56. American Electric Power has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $95.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.60.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.55%.

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.