New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Buys 20,222 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 5,005.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,626 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,222 shares during the quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 6.1% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 22.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 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 bought a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank downgraded American Electric Power from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $102.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.77.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP traded down $4.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $104.48. 7,367,841 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,104,992. The company's 50 day moving average price is $103.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.29. The firm has a market cap of $55.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.16 and a 52 week high of $110.81. 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 (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued 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 yield of 3.56%. 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.