Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 136.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,714 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,918 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AEP. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 10,177.1% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,982,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,399,000 after buying an additional 1,963,154 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 109.5% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,079,000 after buying an additional 1,962,125 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 4.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,760,223,000 after buying an additional 1,114,954 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 18.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,549,000 after buying an additional 1,087,163 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at approximately $80,207,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.4 %

AEP stock opened at $97.25 on Tuesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.22 and a 1-year high of $105.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $94.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AEP. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

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.