American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Now Covered by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 5.17% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on AEP. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Guggenheim upped their target price on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.00.

American Electric Power Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $101.74 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.76. American Electric Power has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $105.18. The firm has a market cap of $53.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the second quarter valued at about $4,246,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the second quarter valued at approximately $361,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,671,000. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,297,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.