Dearborn Partners LLC Purchases 194 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,442 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $594,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $104.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.16 and a 52 week high of $109.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $99.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.75. 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 results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 66.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank downgraded American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.46.

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.