AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 3,649 American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 3,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AEP. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,767,425,000 after buying an additional 763,813 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 4.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,760,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,954 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,389,032,000 after purchasing an additional 543,054 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,524,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,655,000 after purchasing an additional 352,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $106.96 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market cap of $57.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.16 and a twelve month high of $109.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced 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 net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Scotiabank cut American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.77.

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.