American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $140.58 and last traded at $140.2780, with a volume of 695098 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $135.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AEP. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.38.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of $75.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $131.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted 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 business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.72 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 16.29%.American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 176.3% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,004,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,526,000 after purchasing an additional 2,555,415 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 8,776.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,219,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,894,000 after buying an additional 2,194,198 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 357.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,957,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,718,000 after buying an additional 1,529,662 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,437,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,509,780,000 after buying an additional 1,514,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 118.2% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,585,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400,547 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About American Electric Power

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.