Alliancebernstein L.P. Reduces Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,516,721 shares of the company’s stock after selling 331,074 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.85% of American Electric Power worth $416,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.77.

American Electric Power Trading Up 2.2 %

AEP opened at $109.27 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $103.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.16 and a 12 month high of $109.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.43%.

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.