Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co Makes New Investment in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 5,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 222.0% in the 3rd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2,343.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP stock traded down $2.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $82.93. 236,167 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,823,425. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $43.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.65. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.38 and a 12 month high of $94.86.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AEP shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $75.50 to $73.00 in a report on Friday, March 8th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Mizuho downgraded American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.