Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 164,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,221,000.
Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AEP. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 22.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 436.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares during the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AEP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $102.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank cut American Electric Power from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.77.
Get Our Latest Analysis on AEP
American Electric Power Trading Up 1.1 %
Shares of AEP stock traded up $1.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $104.31. 626,795 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,157,343. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $104.11 and a 200 day moving average of $99.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.16 and a 1 year high of $110.48. The firm has a market cap of $55.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43.
American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS 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 last year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.
American Electric Power Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.43%.
American Electric Power Profile
(
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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