American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Stake Increased by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 23.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,710 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,665 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $4,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 57.2% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 935.9% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 404 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc increased its position in American Electric Power by 52.1% during the second quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc now owns 438 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the second quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the second quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of AEP opened at $98.75 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $74.73 and a 52 week high of $105.18. The firm has a market cap of $52.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.65.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 74.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on AEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price target on American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.43.

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.