Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Raises Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 23.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,207,875 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 230,562 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $111,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Price Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $106.96 on Friday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $102.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.16 and a 1 year high of $109.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Scotiabank cut American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.77.

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.