Bank of New York Mellon Corp Boosts Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,844,201 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 84,704 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.72% of American Electric Power worth $354,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hendley & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Hendley & Co. Inc. now owns 39,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,616,000 after buying an additional 901 shares during the period. Stack Financial Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Stack Financial Management Inc now owns 299,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,616,000 after acquiring an additional 108,389 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 5,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 7,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $730,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $115,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $106.89 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.16 and a fifty-two week high of $107.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $97.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.26.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America upgraded American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Company 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.