35,327 Shares in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Bought by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 35,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,258,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 22.4% in 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 holdings in shares of 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 during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth about $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 valued at $65,667,000 after buying an additional 19,081 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP stock opened at $104.48 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market cap of $55.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $103.79 and a 200-day moving average of $99.23. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.16 and a 12-month high of $110.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 66.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased 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 shares of 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 research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.77.

American Electric Power 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.