Wells Fargo & Company Raises American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target to $89.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $89.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 0.72% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho downgraded American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Guggenheim cut shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group downgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.79.

American Electric Power Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP traded up $2.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $88.36. 2,234,465 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,750,991. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.80, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.51. American Electric Power has a twelve month low of $69.38 and a twelve month high of $92.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.67.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 11.04%. American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth approximately $263,000. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 5,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. McCarthy & Cox bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth about $248,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 56,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,847,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

About American Electric Power

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.