Financial Enhancement Group LLC Purchases New Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Financial Enhancement Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $185,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of Stockton lifted its position in American Electric Power by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 5,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.9% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 13,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.8% in the second quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.77.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP stock traded up $1.40 on Wednesday, reaching $102.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 188,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,225,267. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $94.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $54.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.38 and a 52 week high of $104.41.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. American Electric Power’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

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.