Wedbush Securities Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 18.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,901 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,433 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.'s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SouthState Corp boosted its position in American Electric Power by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 6,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,105 shares of the company's stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 12,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,119,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,112 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.77.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP traded up $1.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $104.71. 812,164 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,158,024. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $104.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.27. 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 1-year low of $79.16 and a 1-year high of $110.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 previous year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors 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 yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.