W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. Acquires 3,026 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 89.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,398 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,026 shares during the quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on AEP shares. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America raised 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Scotiabank cut American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Trading Down 1.3 %

AEP stock opened at $100.99 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.07 and a 12 month high of $105.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $95.38 and its 200 day moving average is $97.90. The company has a market capitalization of $53.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 13.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 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.