Sapient Capital LLC Takes Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 304.8% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 91.6% during the third quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AEP. UBS Group downgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Cfra restated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Guggenheim lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.14.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $89.87 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $92.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $84.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.04. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.31%.

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.