COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — American Electric Power Co. (AEP) on Wednesday reported third-quarter profit of $959.6 million.

On a per-share basis, the Columbus, Ohio-based company said it had net income of $1.80. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were $1.85 per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.78 per share.

The utility posted revenue of $5.4 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.39 billion.

AEP shares have increased 24% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has increased 21%. The stock has climbed 27% in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on AEP at https://www.zacks.com/ap/AEP