American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Bought by Cascade Investment Group Inc.

Cascade Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 103.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,633 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,357 shares during the quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. XML Financial LLC raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 0.6% during the third quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 19,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% during the third quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY now owns 5,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First United Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered 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 research note on Tuesday, November 26th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $97.25 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.56. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.22 and a 12-month high of $105.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $94.52 and a 200-day moving average of $96.91.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.55%.

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.