Courier Capital LLC Has $1.41 Million Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Courier Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 8.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,103 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,396 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,413,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at $563,476.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of American Electric Power 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,140. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AEP. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America cut American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.08.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $97.85. 528,514 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,251,211. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $92.80 and a 200-day moving average of $87.81. The firm has a market cap of $51.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $69.38 and a one year high of $104.41.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 13.52%. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 65.31%.

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.