QRG Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 15.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 147,148 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,953 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $15,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AEP. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 17.8% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 16,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,765,000 after buying an additional 2,438 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 7.8% in the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 4,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 12.2% in the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 8,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $941,000 after buying an additional 938 shares during the period. Finally, Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 36.4% in the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 1,592 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $114.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $61.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $110.87 and a 200 day moving average of $106.70. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $89.91 and a twelve month high of $115.36.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.570-6.770 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 54.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Electric Power news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.65, for a total value of $543,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 40,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,443,567.70. The trade was a 10.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,006 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $112,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $635,712. This trade represents a 15.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $120.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.63.

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.