American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc lessened its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 55,907 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,052 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $5,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,077,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in American Electric Power by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 878,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,175,000 after acquiring an additional 163,297 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at about $425,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its position in American Electric Power by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 101,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,392,000 after acquiring an additional 1,558 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AEP. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America upgraded American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Scotiabank cut American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.46.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $104.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $55.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.82. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.16 and a 12-month high of $109.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

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.