American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,750,000 shares, a drop of 33.1% from the May 15th total of 11,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,970,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP opened at $87.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $46.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $87.71 and its 200 day moving average is $83.53. American Electric Power has a 12-month low of $69.38 and a 12-month high of $93.44.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.92.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $440,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,140. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $580,140. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.