HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,239,706 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,031 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.23% of American Electric Power worth $114,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AEP. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 15,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,473,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 334.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 168,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,562,000 after buying an additional 129,909 shares in the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,693 shares of the company's stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 1,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 9,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $914,000 after buying an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America raised American Electric Power from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.46.

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American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $102.96 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $54.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.16 and a twelve month high of $109.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.78.

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 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Equities 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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