Vista Investment Partners II LLC Buys Shares of 3,661 American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in American Electric Power by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after acquiring an additional 19,081 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 15.2% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 15,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at $1,208,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its stake in American Electric Power by 14.5% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Savings Bank lifted its position in American Electric Power by 26.6% during the third quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 4,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 897 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $104.62 on Monday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.16 and a 1-year high of $109.52. The company has a market capitalization of $55.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $99.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 business posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 66.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.46.

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.