D.A. Davidson & CO. Decreases Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

D.A. Davidson & CO. cut its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,766 shares of the company’s stock after selling 810 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AEP. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,591,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,150,657,000 after buying an additional 3,589,451 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 14,892,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,120,240,000 after purchasing an additional 587,145 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,798,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $737,021,000 after acquiring an additional 1,181,706 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,714,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,308,000 after acquiring an additional 374,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,311,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,304,000 after purchasing an additional 660,599 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.3 %

American Electric Power stock traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $88.97. 3,123,525 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,846,845. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.38 and a twelve month high of $93.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $86.35 and a 200-day moving average of $82.44. The company has a market cap of $46.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The business had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. UBS Group downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.43.

American Electric Power 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.