American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Position Trimmed by Smith Moore & CO.

Smith Moore & CO. reduced its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,925 shares of the company’s stock after selling 141 shares during the quarter. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $731,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SouthState Corp increased its position in American Electric Power by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 6,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. grew its position in American Electric Power by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 12,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AEP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.77.

American Electric Power Trading Down 4.2 %

American Electric Power stock opened at $104.48 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.16 and a 12 month high of $110.48. The stock has a market cap of $55.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $103.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

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.