American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Upgraded to “Buy” at Bank of America

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Bank of America from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $104.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $98.00. Bank of America‘s price target points to a potential upside of 11.22% from the stock’s current price.

AEP has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $93.51 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57. American Electric Power has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18. The company has a market capitalization of $49.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.56.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at $50,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.