American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target Raised to $109.00 at BMO Capital Markets

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price target lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $105.00 to $109.00 in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on American Electric Power from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $95.15.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $103.66 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $96.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.82. The company has a market capitalization of $54.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. American Electric Power has a 12-month low of $69.38 and a 12-month high of $104.41.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that American Electric Power will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,630,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,273,181,000 after purchasing an additional 405,114 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,586,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $739,303,000 after buying an additional 776,965 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,378,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,433,000 after acquiring an additional 35,769 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 542.4% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,282,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,927,234 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $175,667,000. 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.