Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 3,113 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,447 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,113 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $6,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 222.0% in the third quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter worth about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter worth about $28,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $75.50 to $73.00 in a report on Friday, March 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Cfra reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.08.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP opened at $82.56 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $82.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $43.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.51. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.38 and a 1 year high of $94.73.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.03). American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 11.64%. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. American Electric Power’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Company 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.