Sunbelt Securities Inc. Raises Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,659 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 21.1% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 327,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,576,000 after purchasing an additional 57,019 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $877,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,524,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,280,655,000 after acquiring an additional 352,588 shares in the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at about $226,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 6.6% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 58,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,636 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.13.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $92.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18. The firm has a market cap of $49.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $97.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.06.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.55%.

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.