Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $120.39 Million Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,305,275 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 285,383 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.25% of American Electric Power worth $120,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. 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 report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.77.

American Electric Power Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $104.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $55.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.16 and a 12-month high of $110.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $103.79 and its 200-day moving average is $99.26.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (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 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

American Electric Power 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.