Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Sells 205 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,864 shares of the company’s stock after selling 205 shares during the quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $314,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 3,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.4% during the third quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP stock traded up $1.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $89.87. 3,330,578 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,750,336. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $84.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.04. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $69.38 and a one year high of $92.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. American Electric Power’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on AEP shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Guggenheim downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group cut American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Cfra reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.14.

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.