HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Has $2.12 Million Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,935 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $109.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $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 one year low of $79.16 and a one year high of $109.76.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 period last year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AEP. Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank downgraded American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.77.

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.