Bard Financial Services Inc. Cuts Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Bard Financial Services Inc. decreased its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,530 shares of the company’s stock after selling 625 shares during the quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 14,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,354,000 after buying an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 3,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,458,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in American Electric Power by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in American Electric Power by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,075,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,498,000 after acquiring an additional 738,756 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AEP. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.13.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $90.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,272,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,552,396. The company has a market cap of $48.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.54. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.22 and a 12-month high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.55%.

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.