Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 3,075 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,183 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,075 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $5,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

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American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock traded down $0.15 on Wednesday, hitting $105.84. 2,784,080 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,767,875. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $79.16 and a one year high of $109.52. The firm's 50 day moving average is $101.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.95.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. American Electric Power's payout ratio is 66.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $102.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered 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. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $99.23.

American Electric Power Company 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.