Stack Financial Management Inc Trims Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Stack Financial Management Inc trimmed its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 164,511 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,199 shares during the period. Stack Financial Management Inc’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $13,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 8.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 7.6% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 1,640.5% during the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 2,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,067 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 2.0% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 62,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,682,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 116.3% during the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after purchasing an additional 6,506 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $92.00 to $86.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Mizuho lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $75.50 to $73.00 in a report on Friday, March 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.08.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ AEP traded down $1.16 on Friday, hitting $85.70. 861,661 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,731,062. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.33. The company has a market cap of $45.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.38 and a 1-year high of $93.56.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.12 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 11.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 82.82%.

About American Electric Power

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.