Jones Financial Companies Lllp Grows Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 44.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 74,277 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,743 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $6,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AEP. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,310,000 after buying an additional 3,288 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 4,370 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.6 %

AEP stock opened at $107.70 on Tuesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.16 and a 12 month high of $107.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $98.28 and its 200 day moving average is $98.46. The company has a market capitalization of $57.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. 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 (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 66.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America raised American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.46.

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.