ERn Financial LLC Raises Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

ERn Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,535 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 166 shares during the quarter. ERn Financial LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in American Electric Power by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares during the period. New England Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,404,000. ING Groep NV increased its position in American Electric Power by 244.3% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 294,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,217,000 after purchasing an additional 208,974 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,815,000. Finally, Executive Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,788,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP opened at $96.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.77. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.22 and a 52-week high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AEP. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

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.