American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by Searle & CO.

Searle & CO. lessened its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,244 shares of the company’s stock after selling 590 shares during the period. Searle & CO.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 57.2% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the first quarter worth $26,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 935.9% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 404 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 52.1% in the second quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc now owns 438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. Scotiabank raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.43.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock traded up $0.29 on Wednesday, reaching $100.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 376,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,117,570. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $100.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.52. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.75 and a 52-week high of $105.18. The company has a market capitalization of $52.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.53, 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.6 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.31%.

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.