Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 616,098 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,931 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of American Electric Power worth $56,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 10,177.1% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,982,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $203,399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,154 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 109.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $385,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962,125 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,760,223,000 after buying an additional 1,114,954 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company's stock worth $704,549,000 after buying an additional 1,087,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $80,207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.
American Electric Power Stock Performance
NASDAQ:AEP traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $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 quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $96.26 and a 200 day moving average of $98.04.
American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.
American Electric Power Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. 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 currently 66.43%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research firms have commented on AEP. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.00.
Read Our Latest Analysis on American Electric Power
About American Electric Power
(
Free Report)
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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