Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Grows Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 204,067 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 33,118 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $18,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the third quarter worth about $50,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.7 %

AEP stock opened at $98.18 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $94.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.19. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18. The firm has a market cap of $52.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 74.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective 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, Bank of America raised American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

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.