Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 19,081 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 640,029 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 19,081 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $65,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth about $589,000. Sfmg LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter worth approximately $221,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 127.8% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 3,108 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter worth $1,331,000. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 46.1% in the third quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 1,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AEP. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.13.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $92.75 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $96.88 and its 200-day moving average is $96.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.22 and a 52 week high of $105.18. The company has a market capitalization of $49.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.55.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 74.55%.

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.