AE Wealth Management LLC Raises Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 5.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,965 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,250 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $13,421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEP. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 57.2% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP opened at $102.15 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.38 and a 1 year high of $105.18. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.65.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Electric Power in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.00.

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.