Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Trims Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. trimmed its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,961 shares of the company’s stock after selling 241 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 68,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,080,000 after acquiring an additional 4,616 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,722,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 19,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,150,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vigilare Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 2nd quarter valued at about $556,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP opened at $117.53 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $111.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.49. The company has a market cap of $62.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.48. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $89.91 and a 1 year high of $120.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.55.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.16. The firm 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 company’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.570-6.770 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 54.39%.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,006 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $112,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $635,712. This trade represents a 15.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.52, for a total transaction of $587,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 35,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,218,732.96. This trade represents a 12.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,006 shares of company stock valued at $1,243,522 in the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AEP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $125.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $112.00 to $108.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.26.

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.