American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target Raised to $104.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on AEP. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.14.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $101.32 on Wednesday. American Electric Power has a one year low of $72.01 and a one year high of $105.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $100.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.12. The stock has a market cap of $53.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.54.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 5.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AEP. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,892 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at $559,000. First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 408.9% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 15,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 12,779 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 47.7% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 53,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,646,000 after buying an additional 17,424 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.