Van ECK Associates Corp Has $14.73 Million Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 159,725 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,635 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $14,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Retirement Guys Formula LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 8,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $810,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,644,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,009,000 after buying an additional 100,578 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $372,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its position in American Electric Power by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 7,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. Finally, Certuity LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $245,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AEP shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America raised American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $101.83 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.01 and a 52 week high of $105.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $95.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.95.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its 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 return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 13.48%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 74.55%.

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.