American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,968,721 shares of the company’s stock after selling 160,747 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $572,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. SLT Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. SLT Holdings LLC now owns 2,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 39,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,536,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. First National Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 85,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,862,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 491.7% in the 4th quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on American Electric Power from $141.00 to $138.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Argus lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Seaport Research Partners upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $136.00 to $129.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.24.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total transaction of $542,320.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,582,097.04. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $131.59 on Tuesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.72 and a 1-year high of $139.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $71.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.09.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.07. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 16.29%.The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 55.80%.

American Electric Power Company Profile

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.