American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) shares are trading higher after the Ohio-based utility reported upbeat fourth-quarter results.

Adjusted earnings came in at $1.19 per share, down from $1.24 a year ago but exceeding the Street estimate of $1.15.

Revenue stood at $5.314 billion, ahead of the $4.887 billion analyst consensus.

Segment Performance

American Electric Power reported higher fourth-quarter operating earnings in Vertically Integrated Utilities of $270 million (up from $255 million) and Transmission & Distribution Utilities of $160 million (compared with $183 million a year ago).

However, Transmission Holdco posted operating earnings of $148 million, down from $166 million a year ago quarter, while the Generation and Marketing segment rose to $78 million from $63 million in the prior-year period.

Pipeline & Expansion Plans

AEP expects to rapidly grow its large-load customer …

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