Guggenheim Increases American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target to $83.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its target price boosted by Guggenheim from $81.00 to $83.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s price objective points to a potential downside of 12.30% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on AEP. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.77.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock traded up $1.50 during trading on Monday, hitting $94.64. The stock had a trading volume of 1,143,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,259,362. The firm has a market cap of $49.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.53. American Electric Power has a 12 month low of $69.38 and a 12 month high of $94.72. The business’s 50-day moving average is $89.34 and its 200 day moving average is $85.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total transaction of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,140. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEP. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 103.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 38,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,136,000 after buying an additional 19,594 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 10,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,413 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 174.2% in the 4th quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 8,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 5,470 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 5,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $179,000. Hedge funds and other 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.