Evercore ISI analyst Greg Gordon upgraded American Electric to Buy with a $59 price target on shares. Yesterday, American Electric filed a a stipulation with the Ohio PUC that among other things recommends an eight year contract for 3,094 MWs of the company's Ohio generation assets. Gordon now believes American Electric trades at a discount to $3.65 earnings in 2017 and sees minimal dilution if PUCO approves the stipulation.

Scotiabank analyst Andrew Weisel lowered the firm's price target on American Electric to $86 from $92 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. Interest rates remain stubbornly high, which has weighed on the sector's valuation, the analyst tells investors. The firm views both Canadian and North American utility stocks as undervalued, but sees upside for Canadian utility stocks following their steady underperformance compared to its U.S. peers. Fundamentally, Scotiabank remains bullish on the group's long-term earnings outlook given the tailwinds driving its strong rate base growth.