First Hawaiian Bank Acquires 5,324 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

First Hawaiian Bank grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 35.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,171 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,324 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peoples Bank KS increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 3,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 14,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,354,000 after acquiring an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 3,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Electric Power in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.13.

American Electric Power Stock Up 2.0 %

AEP stock opened at $92.26 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $94.92 and a 200 day moving average of $96.55. The firm has a market cap of $49.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.56. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.22 and a twelve month high of $105.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.03%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.55%.

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.