Eastern Bank Purchases 2,981 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Eastern Bank lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 218,460 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,981 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $22,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 57.2% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Stockton increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 5,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust grew its position in American Electric Power by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in American Electric Power by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Guggenheim lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.43.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.3 %

American Electric Power stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $99.88. 776,496 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,125,098. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $100.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.52. The firm has a market cap of $52.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.54. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.01 and a 1 year high of $105.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. American Electric Power’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio 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.