American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target Raised to $88.00 at Barclays

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price objective hoisted by Barclays from $84.00 to $88.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on AEP. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank upped their target price on American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a report on Wednesday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded American Electric Power from a neutral rating to a sell rating and cut their price target for the stock from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, March 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Electric Power from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Cfra restated a buy rating and set a $92.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned 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 $88.14.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $88.60. The stock had a trading volume of 3,332,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,771,451. The firm has a market cap of $46.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.50. American Electric Power has a fifty-two week low of $69.38 and a fifty-two week high of $92.88. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 14.60%. The company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 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.