Raymond James Initiates Coverage on American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP)

Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on AEP. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.31.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ AEP opened at $102.90 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.12. The stock has a market cap of $54.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.42. American Electric Power has a 12-month low of $85.93 and a 12-month high of $110.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that American Electric Power will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 71.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total value of $1,041,277.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,658 shares in the company, valued at $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.49, for a total transaction of $817,806.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,332 shares in the company, valued at $1,860,514.68. This represents a 30.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,256 shares of company stock worth $2,688,472. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AEP. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 4,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Certuity LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $245,000. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $372,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.