American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target Raised to $113.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $113.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on AEP. Scotiabank downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.92.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $105.11 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $101.89 and a 200-day moving average of $99.07. American Electric Power has a 1 year low of $79.16 and a 1 year high of $109.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $56.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 66.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently 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.