Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $31.69 Million Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 343,628 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,928 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.06% of American Electric Power worth $31,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 4,370 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in American Electric Power by 436.9% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares in the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth about $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in American Electric Power by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $105.56 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.16 and a 1 year high of $109.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.29 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.87.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.46.

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.