Guardian Partners Inc. Acquires Shares of 47,351 American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 47,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,369,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company's stock worth $5,310,000 after buying an additional 3,288 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 4,370 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings 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 bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $105.15. 5,232,599 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,871,733. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.16 and a 1-year high of $109.52. The stock has a market cap of $56.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.13.

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American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power's payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AEP shares. Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $102.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.77.

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.