Finward Bancorp Buys Shares of 5,145 American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Finward Bancorp purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $475,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AEP. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 10.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,249,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,764,000 after buying an additional 213,153 shares during the period. Passumpsic Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at $914,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power in the third quarter worth $3,191,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 1,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,331,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ:AEP traded up $1.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $107.71. 3,156,599 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,175,399. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $104.88 and a 200 day moving average of $99.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.75 and a 12 month high of $110.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power's payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $100.77.

About American Electric Power

American Electric Power Company, Inc, an electric public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation & Marketing segments.