American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP Stock Holdings Boosted by R Squared Ltd

R Squared Ltd lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 159.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,952 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,271 shares during the quarter. R Squared Ltd’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,980,601,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,678,638,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,404,094,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 2nd quarter worth about $680,638,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 2nd quarter worth about $495,495,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP opened at $128.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $124.43 and a 200-day moving average of $128.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.54 and a 12-month high of $140.58.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.19. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 14.21%. The business had revenue of $6.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be paid a $0.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on AEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $140.00 to $131.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $120.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Electric Power news, CAO Kate Dixon sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,982,000. This trade represents a 11.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) is an electric utility holding company based in Columbus, Ohio. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, it generates or purchases electricity and delivers power to residential, commercial and industrial customers. AEP’s operations include electric generation, transmission and distribution, with service territories across 11 states: Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.