AEP gains as Jefferies upgrades to 'buy' from 'hold'; raises PT

American Electric Power

17/11/2025 13:38

** Shares of utility American Electric Power AEP.O rises 1.4% at $122.93 premarket

** Brokerage Jefferies upgrades the stock to "buy" from "hold"

** Jefferies also raises price target to $137 from $128, 7% upside to the stock's last close on Monday

** The upgrade due to AEP's formalized $72 billion capital plan, accelerating transmission-led growth, protective large-load tariffs, data center-driven demand and improved earnings visibility

** "Data center growth enables earned return on equities improvement for key large-cap long, giving AEP more torque to accelerate U.S. load growth than defensive alternatives,"- Jefferies

** Ten out of 23 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 12 "hold" and 1 "sell"; their median PT is $130 - data compiled by LSEG

** As of last close, AEP up 31.5% YTD

 (Reporting by Dharna Bafna in Bengaluru)

 ((dharna.bafna@thomsonreuters.com))