Commonwealth Financial Services LLC Has $1.72 Million Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Commonwealth Financial Services LLC lowered its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,760 shares of the company’s stock after selling 411 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,630,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,273,181,000 after purchasing an additional 405,114 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 9.9% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,586,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,303,000 after buying an additional 776,965 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in American Electric Power by 1.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,378,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,433,000 after buying an additional 35,769 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in American Electric Power by 542.4% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,282,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,541,000 after buying an additional 1,927,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $175,667,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of AEP opened at $102.15 on Monday. 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 Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.38 and a 52 week high of $105.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $98.82 and a 200-day moving average of $91.01.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim upped their target price on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.