On Thursday, BMO Capital Markets adjusted its price target for American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP), a leading utility company, to $104.00, down from the previous target of $111.00. Despite this reduction, the firm maintained its Outperform rating on the stock.
The revision followed the company's recent earnings report, which, according to BMO Capital, delivered strong quarterly results. However, these results were overshadowed by American Electric Power's weaker-than-expected guidance for the year 2025 and adjustments to its long-term guidance.
The new long-term growth rate was raised to 6-8%, but this increase is based on a 2025 guidance midpoint of $5.85, which reflects only about a 4% growth from the projected 2024 midpoint.
BMO Capital believes that the risk/reward profile for American Electric Power is still skewed positively. The firm's assessment takes into account a roughly 5% discount on their revised conservative estimates. The Outperform rating remains in place as BMO Capital sees potential in the stock despite the lower guidance for 2025.
The analyst from BMO Capital commented on the situation, emphasizing the mixed nature of the recent updates from American Electric Power. The analyst stated, "AEP's strong quarterly results were overshadowed by a weak 2025 guidance and a long-term guidance rebase that also masked several positive updates. Management raised their long-term growth rate to 6-8%.
However, the increased growth is anchored off the newly initiated 2025 guidance $5.85 midpoint that only represents ~4% growth over the 2024 midpoint. We see risk/reward skewing positively given the ~5% discount on our revised conservative estimates. We maintain our Outperform rating and our MTM/SOTP target price moves to $104."
InvestingPro Insights
To complement BMO Capital's analysis of American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP), recent data from InvestingPro offers additional context for investors. Despite the lowered price target, AEP's financial metrics and market performance suggest a mixed but potentially promising outlook.
InvestingPro data shows that AEP has a market capitalization of $51.09 billion and trades at a P/E ratio of 19.31, which is relatively high compared to its near-term earnings growth. This aligns with BMO Capital's observation of a weaker 2025 guidance. However, the company's revenue for the last twelve months stands at $19.6 billion, with a modest growth of 1.64%.
Importantly, AEP has maintained its status as a reliable dividend payer. An InvestingPro Tip highlights that the company has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years, with a current dividend yield of 3.86%. This consistent dividend growth, coupled with a 12.05% dividend growth rate over the last twelve months, may appeal to income-focused investors despite the adjusted growth expectations.
Another InvestingPro Tip notes that AEP's stock generally trades with low price volatility, which could be attractive for risk-averse investors in the utility sector. This characteristic aligns with the company's stable business model and BMO Capital's maintained Outperform rating.
For those interested in a deeper dive into AEP's financial health and market position, InvestingPro offers 5 additional tips and a comprehensive set of financial metrics to inform investment decisions.
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