American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Acquired by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 13.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,735 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 639,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,136,000 after purchasing an additional 127,047 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 30.7% during the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 4,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at $240,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 45,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,424,000 after buying an additional 7,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 8,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 982 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of AEP stock opened at $88.30 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.38 and a twelve month high of $93.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $88.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.08. The company has a market capitalization of $46.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. American Electric Power’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.62.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $518,910.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at $563,476.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at $563,476.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,446 shares in the company, valued at $580,140. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Company 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.