Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Invests $261,000 in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 57.2% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in American Electric Power by 2.0% during the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton grew its position in American Electric Power by 2.2% during the second quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 5,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in American Electric Power by 3.9% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 14.8% during the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $98.20 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $100.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $51.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.54. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.01 and a twelve month high of $105.18.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.79.

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.