American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP Shares Bought by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 61,108 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,005 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $6,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its stake in American Electric Power by 57.1% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its stake in American Electric Power by 166.0% during the second quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP opened at $116.91 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $118.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.67 and a 12-month high of $124.80. The firm has a market cap of $62.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($0.01). American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 17.23%.The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.850-5.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 55.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In other news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total transaction of $575,350.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,980,082.86. This represents a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AEP. Siebert Williams Shank assumed coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $137.00 price target on the stock. Cowen started coverage on American Electric Power in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. BTIG Research began coverage on American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $137.00 in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.87.

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.