Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 15,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,247,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter worth approximately $251,000. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 50.7% in the third quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 47.8% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 90,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,773,000 after purchasing an additional 29,102 shares in the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 10,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 7,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $568,000 after buying an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank cut 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, April 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $75.50 to $73.00 in a report on Friday, March 8th. Mizuho cut American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Cfra reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.08.

American Electric Power Stock Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ AEP traded down $1.60 on Friday, reaching $85.26. The company had a trading volume of 2,975,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,656,889. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average is $83.53 and its 200 day moving average is $80.46. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $93.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.12 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.82%.

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.