Norwood Financial Corp Grows Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Norwood Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 34.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,607 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. Norwood Financial Corp’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 639,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,136,000 after acquiring an additional 127,047 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 4,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $240,000. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 178.1% in the 3rd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 45,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,424,000 after purchasing an additional 7,279 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.6 %

AEP stock traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $87.74. 3,685,940 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,412,706. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.38 and a 12-month high of $93.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.13.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AEP. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.62.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $518,910.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $563,476.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Electric Power news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total transaction of $518,910.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $563,476.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $580,140. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.