Carret Asset Management LLC Grows Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Carret Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,897 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $5,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set 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 American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.46.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $104.24 on Friday. 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 Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.16 and a fifty-two week high of $109.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.82.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

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

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.