American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Position Reduced by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp lowered its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,761 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,794 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Oxbow Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,824,000. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 60,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth about $191,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 11,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,020,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.3 %

American Electric Power stock opened at $107.70 on Wednesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.16 and a 12-month high of $107.84. 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 $57.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.20.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AEP. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

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.