American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Acquired by Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,269 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank cut American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.77.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $106.96 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.16 and a 52 week high of $109.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The company has a market cap of $57.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $102.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.15.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

About American Electric Power

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.