American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by GDS Wealth Management

GDS Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,289 shares of the company’s stock after selling 325 shares during the quarter. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AEP. BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 3,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.4% during the third quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 14,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% during the third quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $90.95. 2,465,183 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,717,186. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $92.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.54. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $84.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.22.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 14.60%. American Electric Power’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group cut American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.14.

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.