B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,714 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,297 shares during the period. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 14.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,591,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,150,657,000 after purchasing an additional 3,589,451 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 2,331.2% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,650,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,398,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500,662 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 99,268.2% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,804,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801,349 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,357,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,268,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,560,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 41.7% in the second quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,340,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $618,073,000 after acquiring an additional 2,161,083 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $85.08 on Wednesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.38 and a 1 year high of $94.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $82.18 and a 200-day moving average of $79.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.51.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $5.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AEP. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, March 8th. UBS Group cut American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. 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 research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.08.

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.