FourThought Financial Partners LLC Takes Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $107.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $57.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $97.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.20. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.16 and a fifty-two week high of $107.84.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 66.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.