American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 33.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 194,059 shares of the company’s stock after selling 96,998 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $17,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AEP. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth about $29,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.15.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $104.17 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.54. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $104.41.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

American Electric Power 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.