Columbia Asset Management Acquires 495 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Columbia Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,281 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Bank of Stockton boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.2% in the second quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 5,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.9% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 7.8% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 0.9% in the second quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 13,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Welch Group LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 1.8% in the second quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AEP. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $86.00 in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.77.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP opened at $103.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.52 and a 200 day moving average of $89.41. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.38 and a fifty-two week high of $104.41.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 13.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.59 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 Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

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.