First Bank & Trust Decreases Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

First Bank & Trust lessened its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,171 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,592 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 6.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 22.4% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 5,771 shares in the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth about $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $65,667,000 after buying an additional 19,081 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AEP. Bank of America upgraded American Electric Power from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of 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 reduced their target price on shares of 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, Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.9 %

AEP stock traded up $0.98 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $105.33. 4,001,955 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,314,018. 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 current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.09.

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, 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 business posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. American Electric Power's payout ratio is currently 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.