American National Bank Buys 309 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

American National Bank raised its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Rating) by 1,103.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 337 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. American National Bank’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $32,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in American Electric Power by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,540,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,109,904,000 after buying an additional 712,350 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 42,719,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,693,119,000 after acquiring an additional 368,921 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,105,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,792,380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327,884 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,295,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,008,000 after purchasing an additional 131,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 2.8% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,568,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,958,000 after purchasing an additional 123,349 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. Credit Suisse Group raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 16th. Bank of America cut American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Monday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on American Electric Power from $112.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.83.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $90.70 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.44. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $80.30 and a one year high of $105.60.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.75% and a net margin of 11.77%. The firm had revenue of $4.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 10th were given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Electric Power news, insider Nicholas K. Akins sold 6,977 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total value of $630,651.03. Following the sale, the insider now owns 143,547 shares in the company, valued at $12,975,213.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 3,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.44, for a total value of $357,581.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,405,460.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicholas K. Akins sold 6,977 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total transaction of $630,651.03. Following the sale, the insider now owns 143,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,975,213.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 63,897 shares of company stock worth $5,723,900 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Electric Power Profile

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American Electric Power Co, Inc engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through the following segments: Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation and Marketing. The Vertically Integrated Utilities segment covers the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers.