Rhumbline Advisers Cuts Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Rhumbline Advisers cut its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 872,719 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,199 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in American Electric Power were worth $80,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth $1,652,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. now owns 6,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 3,026 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 200,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,527,000 after acquiring an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $101.83 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $54.19 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.58. 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 fifty-two week low of $79.01 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.95.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.48% and a return on equity of 11.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. Analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 66.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AEP shares. UBS Group upped their price objective 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 downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated 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, Morgan Stanley reduced 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

About American Electric Power

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.