American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock Position Boosted by Stack Financial Management Inc

Stack Financial Management Inc boosted its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 56.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 299,425 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 108,389 shares during the quarter. American Electric Power comprises 2.5% of Stack Financial Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Stack Financial Management Inc’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $27,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised 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. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $106.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.13. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.16 and a 12 month high of $107.36.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

American Electric Power Company 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.