Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Grows Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 294,170 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,009 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $24,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AEP. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 32.0% during the second quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 3,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Shelton Capital Management increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 45,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,837,000 after purchasing an additional 1,795 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,753,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,852,000 after purchasing an additional 16,347 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 4.1% in the second quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Quarterback LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 18.9% during the second quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 2,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.68% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $77.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.79. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.38 and a twelve month high of $100.32.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.08). American Electric Power had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 10.73%. The company had revenue of $5.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 8th. Investors of record on Friday, November 10th will be given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 9th. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.56%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 80.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $103.00 to $89.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.37.

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.