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American Electric Power (AEP) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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American Electric Power (AEP - Free Report) closed at $91.09 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.6% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.15% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 1.11%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 11.35%.

Heading into today, shares of the utility had lost 4.52% over the past month, lagging the Utilities sector's loss of 4.09% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.49% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from American Electric Power as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be February 23, 2023. In that report, analysts expect American Electric Power to post earnings of $1.02 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 4.08%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $4.25 billion, up 3.78% from the prior-year quarter.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for American Electric Power should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.76% higher within the past month. American Electric Power is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Looking at its valuation, American Electric Power is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 16.93. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 17.22, which means American Electric Power is trading at a discount to the group.

It is also worth noting that AEP currently has a PEG ratio of 2.77. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Utility - Electric Power stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 3.14 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 105, putting it in the top 42% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow AEP in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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