Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock Price

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $123.00 to $130.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on AEP. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.44.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $121.89 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $112.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.41. American Electric Power has a twelve month low of $89.91 and a twelve month high of $122.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.81 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.65 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 17.23%.The business’s revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.850-5.95 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 54.39%.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,006 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $112,672.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,676 shares in the company, valued at $635,712. The trade was a 15.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.52, for a total value of $587,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 35,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,218,732.96. The trade was a 12.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,006 shares of company stock worth $1,243,522. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 68,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,080,000 after buying an additional 4,616 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the second quarter worth about $7,722,000. TrueMark Investments LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 8.6% in the second quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 50,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,289,000 after acquiring an additional 4,028 shares during the last quarter. Vigilare Wealth Management bought a new position in American Electric Power in the second quarter worth about $556,000. Finally, Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 103.7% in the second quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV now owns 31,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,252,000 after acquiring an additional 15,954 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.