Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 13,092 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,529 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,092 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $8,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $106.68. 2,597,967 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,174,976. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $56.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.16 and a 52 week high of $110.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power's payout ratio is 66.43%.

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.