South Dakota Investment Council Boosts Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

South Dakota Investment Council increased its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,362 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 900 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 222.0% during the 3rd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 304.8% during the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 91.6% during the 3rd quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $86.37 on Thursday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $69.38 and a one year high of $94.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.34 and its 200 day moving average is $80.29. The stock has a market cap of $45.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.03). American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 11.64%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 82.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. UBS Group cut American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Cfra reissued a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Barclays increased their price target on American Electric Power from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $92.00 to $86.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim cut American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.08.

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.