Headlands Technologies LLC Takes Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $310,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AEP. BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 3,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in American Electric Power by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 14,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in American Electric Power by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AEP. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on American Electric Power from $92.00 to $86.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho lowered American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. UBS Group lowered American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $75.50 to $73.00 in a report on Friday, March 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.08.

American Electric Power Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $85.26 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.53 and its 200-day moving average is $80.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.38 and a 12-month high of $93.56.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 82.82%.

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.