Simmons Bank Boosts Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Simmons Bank lifted its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,006 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $6,549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. XML Financial LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 3.8% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 0.6% in the third quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 19,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY now owns 5,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AEP. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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 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 report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $107.70 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.20. The company has a market capitalization of $57.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.16 and a 1 year high of $107.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.