Morgan Stanley Lowers American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target to $104.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $104.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank raised their price target on American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP stock opened at $97.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $51.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.55. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.46. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 74.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 57.2% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 935.9% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 52.1% in the second quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc now owns 438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is 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.