American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Upgraded to “Buy” at Guggenheim

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) was upgraded by investment analysts at Guggenheim from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Finviz reports.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on AEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP opened at $97.49 on Thursday. American Electric Power has a 12-month low of $75.22 and a 12-month high of $105.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $94.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.11.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,760,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,954 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,524,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,655,000 after acquiring an additional 352,588 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,163 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,543,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,191,000 after acquiring an additional 341,846 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 109.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962,125 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.