Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Has $844,000 Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,616 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $102.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.06. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $69.38 and a one year high of $105.18. The firm has a market cap of $54.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.54.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its 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. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Electric Power from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America upped their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on American Electric Power in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.00.

About American Electric Power

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.