48,393 Shares in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Acquired by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 48,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,246,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the first quarter worth approximately $1,615,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the first quarter worth approximately $1,731,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in American Electric Power by 381.9% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,995,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581,734 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 646.9% in the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 261,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,510,000 after acquiring an additional 226,435 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 21.7% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 582,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,170,000 after acquiring an additional 103,771 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.79.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $100.28 on Friday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.23. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.38 and a 1 year high of $105.18. The company has a market capitalization of $52.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.54.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released 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 return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

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.