April 17, 2025
Top 10 Stock American Electric Power Hold Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: American Electric Power – Top 10 Stock in Nuclear Energy
American Electric Power is listed as a top 10 stock on April 17, 2025 in the market index Nuclear because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Only one consolidated Obermatt Rank is above-average. The company enjoys a positive professional investor sentiment, but all financial facts speak against a stock purchase. This is probably an investment into the future. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 44 (44% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall hold recommendation for American Electric Power on April 17, 2025.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Electric Utilities |
| Index | Low Emissions, Diversity USA, Nuclear, Recycling, S&P 500 |
| Size class | XX-Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View American Electric Power Hold
| 360 METRICS | April 17, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 49 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 21 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 30 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 95 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 44 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 44 (better than 44% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock American Electric Power are below the industry average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for American Electric Power. The consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 95, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 95% of alternative investment opportunities. But all other ranks are below average. The consolidated Value Rank has a rank of 49, which means that the share price of American Electric Power is on the higher side compared with typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. The consolidated Growth Rank also has a low rank of 21, meaning that the company exhibits below-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, invested capital growth, and stock returns. This means that growth is lower than for 21% of competitors in the same industry. Finally, the consolidated Safety Rank has a riskier rank of 30 which means that the company has a riskier financing structure than 70% comparable companies when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 44, American Electric Power is worse than 56% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As only the professional market sentiment (Sentiment Rank of 95) is above-average, and all other consolidated Obermatt Ranks are below peers, the stock investing proposition case is rather weak. The stock price is expensive for a company of this size in this industry, visible in the below-average Value Rank. Growth is below the competition based on the Growth Rank, and the company has more debt than other companies, according to the Safety Rank. So the question becomes: How important is the Sentiment Rank when all others are below average? When it comes to growth, the low rating might be justified if growth is expected in the future and not yet reflected in current performance. This is often the case for companies with intellectual property, such as technology and pharmaceutical companies. In the early phases, these companies are expensive compared with their size and may have a lot of debt on their books, as is the case here, as seen in the low Value and Safety Ranks. Future growth may be the strongest investment rationale in this case, which is only reflected by institutional investors' opinions. You pay more than the market average for this stock and invest in a rather debt-loaded enterprise, but it may be worth it if the future of American Electric Poweṛ is bright. A small investment might be justified, but proceed with caution. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for American Electric Power very positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 95 (better than 95% compared with alternatives) for 2025, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock American Electric Power is very positive. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for American Electric Power. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 34 (worse than 66% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. But they are changing their opinions! Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 62, which indicates a shift in stock research experts opinions for the better. In other words, they are getting more optimistic about stock investments in American Electric Power. Even better, the Professional Investors rank is 99, meaning that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 99% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Furthermore, Market Pulse has a rank of 96, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are upbeat when discussing this company (more positive news than for 96% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 95 (more positive than 95% compared with investment alternatives), American Electric Power has a reputation among professional investors that is significantly higher than that of its competitors. While analysts are still critical of the company, some are changing their minds. In addition, the professional news channels are optimistic, and many institutional investors have already bought stock in the company. These are encouraging signals, despite the still lower level of analyst recommendations. They may be due to a problematic past, and about to change. The positive sentiment signals are stronger than the negative. ...read more
Value Strategy: American Electric Power Stock Price Value below-average critical
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 49 (worse than 51% compared with alternatives), American Electric Power shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for American Electric Power. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 58 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 58% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning American Electric Power's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 36, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 36% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 62% of alternatives (only 38% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 39% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 49, is a hold recommendation based on American Electric Power's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high in respect to expected revenues, it means that the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than pay it out to shareholders, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. ...read more
Growth Strategy: American Electric Power Growth Momentum negative
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 21 (better than 21% compared with alternatives), American Electric Power shows one of the most restricted growth dynamics in its industry. There is little momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for American Electric Power. Sales Growth has a below market rank of 23, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 77% of its competitors. The same is valid for Capital Growth, with a rank of 28, and Profit Growth, with a rank of 32. Currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 68% of its competitors). Only shareholders are optimistic. Stock Returns are above average at a rank of 63, which means that the stock returns have recently been above 63% of alternative investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 21, is a sell recommendation for growth and momentum investors. That picture may be the result for a company that has reached the bottom. All went south for American Electric Power, and it still looks bad, but some investors already see light at the end of the tunnel, rewarding the stock with recent above-market stock returns. It could also mean that investors are correcting an overreaction to negative news. If that were the case, the positive stock returns are not yet a sign of recovery. Investors should look closely at the Value and Sentiment indicators before they make a stock purchasing decision, because growth is unlikely to be the driving argument behind this investment. ...read more
Safety Strategy: American Electric Power Debt Financing Safety below-average
| SAFETY METRICS | April 17, 2025 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 28 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 12 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 76 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 30 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 30 (better than 30% compared with alternatives), the company American Electric Power has financing practices on the riskier side, which means that their overall debt burden is above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of American Electric Power is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with just one indicator above average for American Electric Power. Liquidity is at 76, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 76% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is riskier at a rank of 12, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 88% of its competitors. Leverage is also high at a rank of 28, which means that the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 72% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 30 (worse than 70% compared with alternatives), American Electric Power has a financing structure that is riskier than that of its competitors. High Leverage (a low Obermatt Leverage Rank) is good in good times, because it usually indicates that shareholders get higher returns. The good Liquidity performance of the company is an indicator that this is the case. However, if you expect an economic downturn, you may stay clear of this stock because they have an above-average debt level that needs refinancing soon. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: American Electric Power Lowest Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | April 17, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 49 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 21 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 76 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 12 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 12 (worse than 88% compared with investment alternatives), American Electric Power (Electric Utilities, USA) shares have lower financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of American Electric Power are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 49 (worse than 51% of alternatives), show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 21), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 30), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 12, is a sell recommendation based on American Electric Power's financial characteristics. As the company American Electric Power's key financial metrics all exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 49), low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 21), and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 30), it is a somewhat questionable stock investment, where the risk of paying too much for the shares is significant, unless the company has an exceptionally bright future. Such poor financial performance sometimes indicates that the company's business is all concentrated in some distant future. This is sometimes the case for high-tech or biotechnology companies. If they own properties that only provide cash flows in the future, the stock may look excessively expensive and risky today. In such cases, the Obermatt Method has limited value as it is based on facts we can observe today. If the facts are all in the future, stock investing becomes guesswork, and this should only be a driver in a limited number of investments that should only amount to a small fraction of a safe portfolio. ...read more
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