American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target Lowered to $117.50 at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price target cut by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH from $124.50 to $117.50 in a research report released on Friday,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on AEP. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $137.00 in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Williams Trading set a $137.00 target price on American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $128.00 to $133.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.29.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ AEP traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $116.63. 2,525,332 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,948,816. American Electric Power has a 52 week low of $97.05 and a 52 week high of $124.80. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.46. The company has a market cap of $62.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($0.01). American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 17.23%.The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.850-5.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total transaction of $575,350.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,898 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,082.86. The trade was a 16.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 330.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Optima Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 57.1% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.