Blue Chip Partners LLC Sells 3,101 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Blue Chip Partners LLC cut its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 30.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,185 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,101 shares during the quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BLB&B Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 14,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $85.35 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market cap of $44.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.51. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $93.56. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $83.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.50.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 82.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AEP. UBS Group downgraded 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. Cfra restated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on American Electric Power from $92.00 to $86.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.08.

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.