Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Buys 706 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 83.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,548 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 4,370 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in American Electric Power by 436.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares in the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after buying an additional 19,081 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.77.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $106.96 on Monday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.16 and a 52-week high of $109.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $102.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.10. 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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.48%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

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.