Key Financial Inc Buys 239 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Key Financial Inc boosted its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,723 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the quarter. Key Financial Inc’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,760,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,954 shares during the period. 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. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,163 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,644,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,009,000 after acquiring an additional 100,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 109.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962,125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $102.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.58. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $79.16 and a one year high of $105.18.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 13.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank cut American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

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.