Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Decreases Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,354 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,381 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 724,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,381,000 after acquiring an additional 12,894 shares during the period. BOKF NA lifted its position in American Electric Power by 35.6% during the first quarter. BOKF NA now owns 100,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,514,000 after purchasing an additional 26,432 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,586,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $739,303,000 after purchasing an additional 776,965 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Rodgers Brothers Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 3,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $440,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,446 shares in the company, valued at $580,140. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,140. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim raised their target price on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.77.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ:AEP traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $96.45. 2,275,133 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,204,326. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $89.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.41. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $97.32. The company has a market cap of $50.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 14.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

About American Electric Power

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.