American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Acquired by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 159,725 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,635 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $14,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEP. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,288 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 4,370 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in American Electric Power by 436.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company's stock worth $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of AEP traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $103.09. The company had a trading volume of 2,497,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,311,234. The stock has a market cap of $54.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.96. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.16 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. American Electric Power's payout ratio is 66.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America upgraded American Electric Power from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $102.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Profile

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.