American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Holdings Cut by Fluent Financial LLC

Fluent Financial LLC reduced its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,284 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,264 shares during the quarter. American Electric Power comprises approximately 2.5% of Fluent Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Fluent Financial LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $4,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 14.8% in the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 902 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.1% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 152,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,384,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares during the last quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.7% in the second quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 17,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 112.2% in the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Columbia Asset Management grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 5.6% in the second quarter. Columbia Asset Management now owns 9,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $814,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ AEP traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $102.95. 465,710 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,223,876. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $104.41. The company has a market capitalization of $54.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $95.52 and its 200-day moving average is $89.41.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. American Electric Power’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.77.

American Electric Power 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.