American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Reaches New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $108.81 and last traded at $108.79, with a volume of 154555 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $107.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on AEP shares. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank lowered shares of American Electric Power from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of American Electric Power from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.46.

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American Electric Power Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $98.96 and a 200-day moving average of $98.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power's payout ratio is 66.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aegis Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth $281,000. Probity Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 14,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 5,871 shares of the company's stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at $19,389,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

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.