Empower Advisory Group LLC Grows Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 771,541 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 30,887 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned about 0.14% of American Electric Power worth $71,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Electric Power from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of AEP stock traded up $0.98 on Friday, hitting $105.33. The stock had a trading volume of 4,001,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,314,018. The company's 50 day moving average price is $96.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.09. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.16 and a 1 year high of $105.73. 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 capitalization of $56.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.58.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. Analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

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.