Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $9.99 Million Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 0.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 116,068 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $9,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,440,000. Lido Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.8% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 9,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the third quarter worth about $222,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in American Electric Power by 26.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,531,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,432,000 after purchasing an additional 522,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in American Electric Power by 5.1% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,714,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,308,000 after purchasing an additional 374,300 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

American Electric Power Price Performance

American Electric Power stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $87.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,260,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,351,759. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.28. The company has a market cap of $46.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.38 and a fifty-two week high of $93.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 14.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $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 year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AEP. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.62.

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.