Howard Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,100 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,178 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $5,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PFG Investments LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 0.3% during the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 24,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,793,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 0.3% during the third quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 26,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,993,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in American Electric Power by 16.2% during the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its position in American Electric Power by 6.8% during the third quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 1,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $800,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded American Electric Power from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 1st. Bank of America lowered American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $131.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $148.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.10.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $136.30 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.67. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $97.46 and a 52-week high of $137.74. The firm has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.07 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.450 EPS. Equities analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 56.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,351 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total value of $177,602.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,025,798.60. The trade was a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total value of $542,320.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,263 shares in the company, valued at $5,582,097.04. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

About American Electric Power

American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.