Cohen & Steers Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,318,499 American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Cohen & Steers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,318,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $121,605,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned 0.25% of American Electric Power as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AEP. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.77.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $104.63 on Monday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.29. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.16 and a 12-month high of $110.48. The company has a market capitalization of $55.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.