Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Has $264,000 Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,251 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Apella Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $348,000. Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,982,000. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors increased its position in American Electric Power by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 9,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,000 after buying an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in American Electric Power by 1,592.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 414,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,612,000 after buying an additional 389,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in American Electric Power by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,531,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,432,000 after buying an additional 522,608 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim lowered American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Mizuho lowered American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Cfra reissued a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.08.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP stock opened at $85.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.80 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $82.18 and a 200-day moving average of $79.65. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.38 and a 12-month high of $94.86.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.03). American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 11.64%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.82%.

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.