American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock Position Lowered by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lowered its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 33.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,165 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,523 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake 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 increased its stake in American Electric Power by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 4,370 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 436.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 5,771 shares during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at about $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% in the third 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 during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $106.74 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.70 and a 1 year high of $110.48. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.76.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 company earned $1.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AEP shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $114.00 price target on shares of American Electric Power and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.69.

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.