U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 64,880 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 68.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 159,122 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 64,880 shares during the quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $12,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 231.2% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 107,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,715,000 after buying an additional 74,900 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 167.9% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 9,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $772,000 after acquiring an additional 5,958 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 344,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,970,000 after purchasing an additional 4,926 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 165,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho lowered American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Guggenheim cut shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Cfra reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.14.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.4 %

AEP stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $88.60. 3,332,412 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,215,932. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $84.10 and a 200-day moving average of $80.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.38 and a 1 year high of $92.88.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The firm had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.31%.

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.