Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 12.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,046,775 shares of the company’s stock after selling 153,943 shares during the period. American Electric Power makes up about 2.0% of Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $117,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AEP. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,179,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,686,000 after acquiring an additional 134,732 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 39,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,491,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 131.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 7,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 4,318 shares during the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its position in American Electric Power by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 15,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,616 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in American Electric Power by 129.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 250,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,225,000 after purchasing an additional 141,418 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AEP. Evercore boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $137.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Scotiabank increased their price target on American Electric Power from $121.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Williams Trading set a $137.00 price target on American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group raised their price target on American Electric Power from $132.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Bank of America cut American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $131.00 to $122.00 in a report on Monday, January 12th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,351 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total transaction of $177,602.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,025,798.60. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total transaction of $542,320.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,263 shares in the company, valued at $5,582,097.04. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $133.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $72.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.60. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $97.46 and a one year high of $134.60.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.07 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The company’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.450 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 56.72%.

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.