Advisors Capital Management LLC Purchases 391 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,192 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,249,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,764,000 after purchasing an additional 213,153 shares in the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter worth approximately $914,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,191,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 46.1% in the third quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 1,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the third quarter worth approximately $1,331,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of AEP opened at $106.68 on Wednesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.16 and a twelve month high of $110.48. The stock has a market cap of $56.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $104.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.37.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 business earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 66.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on AEP shares. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.77.

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.