Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Grows Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 41,684 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,461 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $4,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 72.2% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 7,300.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Optima Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 330.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID increased its stake in American Electric Power by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total value of $542,320.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,263 shares in the company, valued at $5,582,097.04. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $141.00 to $138.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on American Electric Power from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore raised their target price on American Electric Power from $137.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research raised American Electric Power from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.24.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.5%

AEP stock opened at $130.90 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.17. The company has a market capitalization of $71.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.39. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.72 and a 12 month high of $139.44.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.72 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 10.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.80%.

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.