American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. decreased its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,476 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $5,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AEP. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter worth $1,615,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter worth $1,731,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 381.9% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,995,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581,734 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 646.9% in the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 261,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,510,000 after acquiring an additional 226,435 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 21.7% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 582,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,170,000 after acquiring an additional 103,771 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $102.90. 90,440 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,222,388. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $54.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.54. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $104.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.41.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.77.

American Electric Power 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.