Cascade Investment Group Inc. Invests $234,000 in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Cascade Investment Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AEP. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $358,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 1,892 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at $203,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in American Electric Power by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 29,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,380,000 after buying an additional 3,371 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at $559,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $99.66 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $100.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.06. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.01 and a twelve month high of $105.18. The company has a market cap of $52.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.49, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 13.52%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank upped their target price on American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim upped their target price on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.07.

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.