Scotiabank Raises American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target to $99.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price target upped by Scotiabank from $90.00 to $99.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $90.46.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $101.79 on Wednesday. American Electric Power has a 1-year low of $69.38 and a 1-year high of $104.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $90.48 and a 200 day moving average of $86.04. The firm has a market cap of $54.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Therace Risch 5,274 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,140. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Therace Risch 5,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The disclosure for this trade can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $175,667,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in American Electric Power by 542.4% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,282,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,927,234 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in American Electric Power by 381.9% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,995,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581,734 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in American Electric Power by 221.9% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,715,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182,451 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in American Electric Power by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,586,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,885 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.