Townsquare Capital LLC Grows Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 6.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,713 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,812 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $4,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Street Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter worth about $205,000. Avestar Capital LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in American Electric Power by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in American Electric Power by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 39,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 18.8% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $99.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $98.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $75.22 and a one year high of $105.18. The firm has a market cap of $53.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.55.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AEP. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.93.

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.