Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of American Electric Power Call Options (NASDAQ:AEP)

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 421,115 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 15,416% compared to the typical volume of 2,714 call options.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $90.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,042,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,721,986. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.75 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. American Electric Power has a fifty-two week low of $69.38 and a fifty-two week high of $92.10.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho cut shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 12.3% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 22,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after buying an additional 2,415 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 121,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,176,000 after purchasing an additional 5,570 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the third quarter worth approximately $217,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 21.0% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 519,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,083,000 after purchasing an additional 90,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.8% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 31,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.