American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by United Services Automobile Association

United Services Automobile Association cut its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,506 shares of the company’s stock after selling 631 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AEP. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.92.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $105.11 on Monday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.16 and a 12 month high of $109.52. 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 fifty day moving average price of $101.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.04. The company has a market cap of $56.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.43%.

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.