American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by Huber Capital Management LLC

Huber Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 30.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,444 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,818 shares during the period. Huber Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AEP. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 4,370 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in American Electric Power by 436.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after buying an additional 19,081 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Scotiabank downgraded American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.77.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $107.75 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $103.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.16 and a 12 month high of $109.76.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.43%.

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.