D.A. Davidson & CO. Lowers Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

D.A. Davidson & CO. cut its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,121 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,011 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $3,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AEP. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,760,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,954 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,524,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,280,655,000 after acquiring an additional 352,588 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,163 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,644,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,009,000 after acquiring an additional 100,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 109.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962,125 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $104.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.16 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.04. The company has a market cap of $55.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.58.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on AEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.00.

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.