American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Given New $94.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its target price reduced by Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $94.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

AEP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays upped their target price on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded American Electric Power from a sell rating to a neutral rating and upped their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $86.00 in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded American Electric Power from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $88.62.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ AEP opened at $88.14 on Monday. American Electric Power has a 1-year low of $69.38 and a 1-year high of $93.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $88.20 and a 200-day moving average of $83.92. The firm has a market cap of $46.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,140. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,140. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $518,910.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at $563,476.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,591,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,150,657,000 after purchasing an additional 3,589,451 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth $175,667,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in American Electric Power by 542.4% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,282,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,541,000 after buying an additional 1,927,234 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in American Electric Power by 381.9% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,995,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,127,000 after buying an additional 1,581,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in American Electric Power by 221.9% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,715,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,140,000 after buying an additional 1,182,451 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by 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.