LSV Asset Management Increases Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 231.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,300 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 74,900 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $8,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. BLB&B Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 3,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.4% in the third quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in American Electric Power by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 14,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its position in American Electric Power by 3.1% during the third quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $89.87 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.04. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.38 and a 52 week high of $92.88. The stock has a market cap of $47.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The business had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. American Electric Power’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors 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 3.92%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group lowered American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Mizuho lowered American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.14.

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.