Inceptionr LLC Purchases New Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AEP. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,288 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 4,370 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 436.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AEP. Barclays cut 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 report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.46.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP stock opened at $104.62 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $99.21 and its 200-day moving average is $98.64. 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 Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.16 and a 1 year high of $109.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 business posted $1.23 EPS. 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 66.43%.

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.