American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by Hantz Financial Services Inc.

Hantz Financial Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 30,851 shares of the company’s stock after selling 622 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 10,177.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,982,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,154 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 109.5% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962,125 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in American Electric Power by 4.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,760,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,954 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 18.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at $80,207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. 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 for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $98.03 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market cap of $52.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.56.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.55%.

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.