American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $105.31 and last traded at $105.24, with a volume of 624057 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $104.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AEP. BMO Capital Markets cut 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. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.9 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $96.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.04. 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 cap of $56.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.58.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business posted $1.23 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,310,000 after buying an additional 3,288 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 4,370 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in American Electric Power by 436.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares during the period. 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.