Shepherd Financial Partners LLC Purchases New Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc boosted its position in American Electric Power by 52.1% in the 2nd quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc now owns 438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AEP. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.43.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $97.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.54. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $74.97 and a 52 week high of $105.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $100.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.35.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. Analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.12%.

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.