Vestcor Inc Sells 3,052 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Vestcor Inc lessened its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,907 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,052 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $5,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 57,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,274,000 after purchasing an additional 3,075 shares in the last quarter. Essential Planning LLC. purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,067,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,239,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,338,000 after buying an additional 30,031 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 15,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 334.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 168,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,562,000 after buying an additional 129,909 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP stock opened at $104.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $55.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.82. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $79.16 and a one year high of $109.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.46.

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.