Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 24.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,847 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 6,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 12,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AEP. Bank of America raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.77.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $104.48 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $55.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.16 and a 12-month high of $110.48. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.26.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. 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.