Prudential Financial Inc. Raises Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 168.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 917,762 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 575,318 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $84,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AEP. SouthState Corp increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 6,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 12,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Price Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $104.18 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.05. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.16 and a 12 month 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Scotiabank cut American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.92.

American Electric Power 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.