Advisory Alpha LLC Increases Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,548 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AEP. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 3.9% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 7.8% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 1.9% during the first quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 6,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in American Electric Power by 1.5% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ:AEP traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $90.92. 388,133 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,293,275. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $89.07 and its 200-day moving average is $84.53. The firm has a market cap of $47.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.38 and a twelve month high of $93.44.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at $563,476.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $563,476.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,140. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AEP. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $86.00 in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.62.

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.