Stifel Financial Corp Increases Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 937,285 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 38,553 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.18% of American Electric Power worth $86,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEP. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 6.1% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $2,206,000 after buying an additional 4,370 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust boosted 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 buying an additional 5,771 shares during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth about $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,667,000 after acquiring an additional 19,081 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $101.62.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $108.15 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $105.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. 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 12-month low of $84.28 and a 12-month high of $110.48.

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 return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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