Stephens Inc. AR Boosts Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 11.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,054 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,885 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $4,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 57.2% in the 2nd 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 period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 5,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank upped their price target on American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.43.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $97.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.45. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.97 and a 12-month high of $105.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 74.10%.

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.