American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Acquired by Archer Investment Corp

Archer Investment Corp increased its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 112.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,299 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,100 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AEP. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $348,000. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,982,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 50,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,096,000 after acquiring an additional 11,065 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 1,592.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 414,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,612,000 after acquiring an additional 389,675 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 26.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,531,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,432,000 after acquiring an additional 522,608 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ AEP traded up $1.36 on Wednesday, hitting $80.87. 1,139,824 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,759,112. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $94.73. 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 company has a market capitalization of $42.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.85.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $75.50 to $73.00 in a report on Friday, March 8th. Guggenheim cut American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com cut American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho cut American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, UBS Group cut 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, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.15.

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.