Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $113.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.51% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.92.

American Electric Power Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $105.11 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $101.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Electric Power has a twelve month low of $79.16 and a twelve month high of $109.52. The stock has a market cap of $56.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth $347,000. Thoma Capital Management LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $743,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 23,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,140,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $229,000. Finally, SpringVest Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $3,204,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.