Allworth Financial LP Increases Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 34.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,586 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 5,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth about $590,000. Seascape Capital Management purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,674,000. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,652,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AEP. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Scotiabank cut American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 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 six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ AEP opened at $102.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.41. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.16 and a 12 month high of $105.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $95.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.96.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 13.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.55%.

About American Electric Power

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.