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

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,080,000 shares, a growth of 16.7% from the December 31st total of 8,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.0 %

American Electric Power stock opened at $98.03 on Friday. American Electric Power has a twelve month low of $75.22 and a twelve month high of $105.18. The stock has a market cap of $52.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $95.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 74.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AEP shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group increased their price target on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AEP. L.M. Kohn & Company boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 2,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $263,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 15,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,519,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 5,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Little House Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $590,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.