American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $108.81 and last traded at $108.79, with a volume of 154555 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $107.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AEP. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective 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. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.46.

American Electric Power Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $54.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $98.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.55.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.43%.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Company Profile

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.