Courier Capital LLC Trims Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Courier Capital LLC lowered its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 23.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,499 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,493 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 304.8% in the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AEP shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.62.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $87.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $46.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.13. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.38 and a 1-year high of $93.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 14.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. Analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal 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 yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $440,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares in the company, valued at $580,140. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other American Electric Power news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $440,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $580,140. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.