American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 3,033,101 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 10% from the previous session’s volume of 2,761,385 shares.The stock last traded at $102.55 and had previously closed at $104.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.92.

American Electric Power Stock Down 1.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $54.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.05. 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share 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 company earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

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 of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 66.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 27,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter worth about $377,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 2,790 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $509,000. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its position in American Electric Power by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 6,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $684,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.