Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Increases Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,269 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 4,370 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 436.9% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares in the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on AEP shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.77.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of AEP stock opened at $106.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $102.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.15. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.16 and a twelve month high of $109.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

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.