Bellecapital International Ltd. Has $670,000 Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Bellecapital International Ltd. raised its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Rating) by 62.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,752 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,973 shares during the period. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $670,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 168.2% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 271,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,049,000 after acquiring an additional 170,304 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in American Electric Power by 2.0% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 170,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,333,000 after acquiring an additional 3,372 shares during the period. TIAA FSB grew its stake in American Electric Power by 2.6% in the third quarter. TIAA FSB now owns 25,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,247,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Hallmark Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Bowling Portfolio Management LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 1.8% in the third quarter. Bowling Portfolio Management LLC now owns 10,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $902,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.33% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.5 %

AEP traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $92.20. 67,966 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,635,617. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $95.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.69. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.30 and a 52 week high of $105.60.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 27th. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.75 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.73% and a net margin of 13.08%. American Electric Power’s quarterly revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 68.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. Credit Suisse Group raised their target price on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 16th. Bank of America lowered American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $101.00 to $98.00 in a report on Monday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $96.00 to $108.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 15th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on American Electric Power in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.82.

American Electric Power Profile

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American Electric Power Co, Inc engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through the following segments: Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation and Marketing. The Vertically Integrated Utilities segment covers the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers.