American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Holdings Lifted by Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC

Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,650 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in American Electric Power by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after acquiring an additional 19,081 shares during the period. New England Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at about $3,404,000. ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 244.3% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 294,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,217,000 after purchasing an additional 208,974 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its stake in American Electric Power by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 115,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,650,000 after buying an additional 7,073 shares during the period. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth about $303,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $97.25 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $94.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.84. The stock has a market cap of $51.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.49, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.41. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $75.22 and a one year high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

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.