American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Reaches New 12-Month High at $104.68

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $104.68 and last traded at $104.46, with a volume of 13105 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $104.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.15.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.6 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $97.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 13.52%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,630,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,273,181,000 after buying an additional 405,114 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,586,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,303,000 after acquiring an additional 776,965 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,378,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,433,000 after purchasing an additional 35,769 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 542.4% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,282,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,927,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $175,667,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Company Profile

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.