Wesbanco Bank Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lowered its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,263 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,985 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $6,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 436.9% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 5,771 shares during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $419,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,667,000 after acquiring an additional 19,081 shares during the period. New England Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,404,000. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 244.3% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 294,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,217,000 after acquiring an additional 208,974 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ AEP opened at $97.49 on Thursday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $75.22 and a one year high of $105.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.56.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AEP. Barclays cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.00.

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.