Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock Price

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its target price increased by Barclays from $120.00 to $132.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential upside of 1.14% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AEP. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $145.90 price target for the company. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $140.00 to $131.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on American Electric Power from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.50.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $130.51. 1,701,272 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,949,264. American Electric Power has a 12-month low of $112.54 and a 12-month high of $140.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.46.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.55 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 10.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 6.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Kate Dixon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 15,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,982,000. This represents a 11.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. StrongBox Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at approximately $373,000. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 76.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 2,405 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 33,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,939,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co raised its position in American Electric Power by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 4,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) is an electric utility holding company that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers. Through its operating companies, AEP provides regulated electric service and manages power generation assets using a mix of energy resources, including natural gas, coal, nuclear, hydroelectric and renewable energy.

AEP operates one of the largest electric transmission systems in the United States and supplies electricity across portions of Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.