American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI cut its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 42.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,167,469 shares of the company's stock after selling 859,284 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.22% of American Electric Power worth $107,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock worth $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in American Electric Power by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 17,740 shares of the company's stock worth $1,636,000 after purchasing an additional 6,825 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 18,982 shares of the company's stock worth $1,751,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 682.2% in the 4th quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 31,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,920,000 after buying an additional 27,614 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 29,742 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,743,000 after buying an additional 9,367 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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American Electric Power Price Performance

American Electric Power stock traded down $4.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $104.48. 7,367,841 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,107,684. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.16 and a 12-month high of $110.48. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $103.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.26. The company has a market capitalization of $55.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power's payout ratio is 66.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on AEP shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank cut American Electric Power from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.