American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Stake Cut by Smith Moore & CO.

Smith Moore & CO. decreased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,925 shares of the company’s stock after selling 141 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,767,425,000 after purchasing an additional 763,813 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 4.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,760,223,000 after buying an additional 1,114,954 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,389,032,000 after acquiring an additional 543,054 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,808,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,178,174,000 after acquiring an additional 283,311 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased 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 worth $427,009,000 after acquiring an additional 100,578 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $104.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. 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 fifty day moving average of $103.79 and a 200-day moving average of $99.29. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $79.16 and a one year high of $110.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AEP. Scotiabank lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.77.

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.