Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Makes New Investment in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 304.8% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

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

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $87.74 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.38 and a 12 month high of $93.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AEP. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. UBS Group downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.62.

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.