Swiss National Bank Sells 44,900 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,611,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $130,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 12,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 74,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,044,000 after buying an additional 938 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 5,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 1,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $88.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $46.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.36. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $69.38 and a one year high of $92.88.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 14.60%. The business had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho lowered American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on American Electric Power from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Cfra restated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.14.

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.