Northern Trust Corp Acquires 386,518 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,237,782 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 386,518 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.98% of American Electric Power worth $572,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 71.1% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 2,480 shares during the last quarter. Corient IA LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter valued at about $382,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,587,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 210,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,018,000 after purchasing an additional 28,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 22.2% during the 1st quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 60,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,633,000 after purchasing an additional 11,046 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $110.70 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $106.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.17. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $89.91 and a fifty-two week high of $115.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.18, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.55.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.16. American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 54.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AEP. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $116.00 price target on shares of American Electric Power and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.29.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total transaction of $819,820.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,045,276.76. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,173 shares of company stock worth $2,467,015. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.