American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,810,000 shares, a decrease of 18.0% from the January 15th total of 9,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,970,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $101.83 on Monday. American Electric Power has a 12-month low of $79.01 and a 12-month high of $105.18. The company has a market cap of $54.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $95.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.95.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.48% and a return on equity of 11.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 10,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $955,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares during the last quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. bought a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $136,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,862,000. Keel Point LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 3,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Strategies LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.