American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Rating Increased to Buy at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) from an underperform rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. Bank of America currently has $104.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $98.00.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.1 %

American Electric Power stock opened at $94.54 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a market capitalization of $50.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.56. American Electric Power has a 52 week low of $75.22 and a 52 week high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.55%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEP. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 51.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 257,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,582,000 after buying an additional 87,075 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in American Electric Power by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 43,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,819,000 after acquiring an additional 2,271 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in American Electric Power by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 130,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,523,000 after acquiring an additional 2,142 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the second quarter valued at $217,000. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.6% during the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 16,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,413,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. 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.