Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 4,497 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 95,601 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,497 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $9,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AEP. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 4,370 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in American Electric Power by 436.9% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 5,771 shares in the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently 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 report on Tuesday, March 18th. 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 report on Wednesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $100.77.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $106.79. 1,109,917 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,169,527. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $104.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. American Electric Power's payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

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.