American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP Stake Boosted by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 208.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,223 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,103 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $11,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. L2 Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 3,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. 71 West Capital Partners bought a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $334,000. LFG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth $1,321,000. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 210.1% in the fourth quarter. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 130,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,019,000 after buying an additional 88,250 shares during the period. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 70,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,253,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AEP. Mizuho increased their target price on American Electric Power from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on American Electric Power from $132.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.10.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $129.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $100.72 and a one year high of $139.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $131.16 and its 200-day moving average is $125.80.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.72 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 16.29%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 55.80%.

American Electric Power Profile

American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.