GQG Partners LLC Buys 543,054 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,060,525 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 543,054 shares during the period. American Electric Power accounts for 2.1% of GQG Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. GQG Partners LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,389,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. SouthState Corp lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 6,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 12,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AEP shares. Scotiabank downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on 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. Bank of America lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.92.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $104.18 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $102.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.05. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.16 and a fifty-two week high of $109.52. The company has a market cap of $55.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. 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 (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 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.