American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Acquired by Arete Wealth Advisors LLC

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,847 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $155,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in American Electric Power by 16.4% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,264,000 after purchasing an additional 9,985 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 191.4% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 89,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,202,000 after purchasing an additional 58,916 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at $1,021,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.77.

American Electric Power Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $104.48 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.16 and a twelve month high of $110.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $103.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 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.