First Horizon Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 175,375 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $17,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 10,177.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,982,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963,154 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its position in American Electric Power by 578.2% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 975,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,948,000 after purchasing an additional 831,235 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 9.9% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,586,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,303,000 after purchasing an additional 776,965 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 51.1% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,844,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,877,000 after buying an additional 623,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1,140.5% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 456,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,070,000 after buying an additional 419,870 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AEP shares. Barclays upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.27.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $96.70 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.22 and a twelve month high of $105.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.55.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.55%.

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.