AlphaQuest LLC Takes $3.81 Million Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 33,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,809,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 0.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,467,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,444,057,000 after purchasing an additional 197,998 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,516,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,958,869,000 after buying an additional 653,712 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,352,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,379,532,000 after buying an additional 285,000 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in American Electric Power by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,802,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $809,557,000 after acquiring an additional 432,441 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in American Electric Power by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,912,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $509,709,000 after acquiring an additional 272,214 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In other news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total transaction of $575,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,082.86. This trade represents a 16.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America cut American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $131.00 to $122.00 in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $128.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $121.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.39.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $119.21 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $97.32 and a twelve month high of $124.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $117.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.85. The company has a market capitalization of $63.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.63.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 17.23%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.39%.

American Electric Power Profile

American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.