Dearborn Partners LLC Buys 194 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,442 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of AEP stock opened at $104.43 on Wednesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.16 and a 1 year high of $109.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.75. 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 $55.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AEP shares. 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 note on Tuesday, November 26th. 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 research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America raised shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered 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 report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.46.

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.