Choate Investment Advisors Invests $419,000 in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Choate Investment Advisors bought a new position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. PSI Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in American Electric Power by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 12,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on AEP shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays cut their target price on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.46.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP opened at $105.86 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $100.80 and a 200 day moving average of $98.91. 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 stock has a market cap of $56.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50.

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 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 66.43%.

American Electric Power Company 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.