Beacon Financial Advisory LLC Makes New $905,000 Investment in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Beacon Financial Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 9,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $905,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 4.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,760,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,954 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,524,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,655,000 after purchasing an additional 352,588 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,163 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,543,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,191,000 after purchasing an additional 341,846 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 109.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962,125 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ AEP opened at $99.39 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $52.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.68. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $75.22 and a one year high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target 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. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

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.