Moody National Bank Trust Division Buys 491 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Rating) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,474 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AEP. Accurate Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $357,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $184,000. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. bought a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $861,000. Finally, American National Bank raised its stake in American Electric Power by 1,103.6% in the 4th quarter. American National Bank now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 16th. Credit Suisse Group increased their target price on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American Electric Power from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $108.00 to $99.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Cfra increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.83.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP traded down $1.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $90.70. 8,072,277 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,929,044. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.30 and a 1-year high of $105.60. The company has a market capitalization of $46.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $91.43 and its 200-day moving average is $91.14.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.06. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.75% and a net margin of 11.77%. The business had revenue of $4.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 73.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In related news, insider Nicholas K. Akins sold 6,977 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total value of $630,651.03. Following the sale, the insider now owns 143,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,975,213.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Electric Power news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total transaction of $90,751.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,059,099.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicholas K. Akins sold 6,977 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total transaction of $630,651.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 143,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,975,213.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 63,897 shares of company stock worth $5,723,900. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Electric Power Company Profile

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American Electric Power Co, Inc engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through the following segments: Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation and Marketing. The Vertically Integrated Utilities segment covers the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers.