First National Trust Co Grows Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

First National Trust Co lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 89,559 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,375 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $8,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 31.9% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,077,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in American Electric Power by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 878,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,175,000 after buying an additional 163,297 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at about $425,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.6% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 101,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,392,000 after acquiring an additional 1,558 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AEP. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target 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. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays cut their price target on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.46.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.2 %

AEP opened at $104.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $100.22 and a 200-day moving average of $98.82. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.16 and a fifty-two week high of $109.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 66.43%.

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.