Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 37,961 shares of the company’s stock after selling 532 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $3,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $220,983,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 1,962,125 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased 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 worth $2,760,223,000 after buying an additional 1,114,954 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,549,000 after buying an additional 1,087,163 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at $80,207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of AEP opened at $104.62 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $79.16 and a one year high of $109.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $98.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $55.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AEP. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America raised shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.46.

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.