Barclays Cuts American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target to $99.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price target lowered by Barclays from $100.00 to $99.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on AEP. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.93.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP opened at $99.89 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.55. American Electric Power has a 52-week low of $75.22 and a 52-week high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in American Electric Power by 1.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 724,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,381,000 after acquiring an additional 12,894 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 5.8% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.5% in the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,257,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter worth about $382,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 27.2% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 77,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,000 after buying an additional 16,568 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.