Payden & Rygel Investment Group Takes $215,000 Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Payden & Rygel Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several 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 valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in American Electric Power by 1.5% in the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.77.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total transaction of $518,910.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Electric Power news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 6,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $580,140. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at $563,476.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP traded up $0.82 during trading on Thursday, reaching $95.84. 3,340,156 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,264,612. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $89.58 and a 200-day moving average of $85.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 14.60%. The company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 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.