HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Buys 299 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 20,935 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth about $220,983,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 109.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,079,000 after buying an additional 1,962,125 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in American Electric Power by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,760,223,000 after buying an additional 1,114,954 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in American Electric Power in the third quarter worth approximately $80,207,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in American Electric Power by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,767,425,000 after acquiring an additional 763,813 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $109.27 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $103.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.14. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.16 and a twelve month high of $109.76.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.77.

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.