NEOS Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 32.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,969 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,185 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $6,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on AEP shares. Scotiabank downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America increased their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.77.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $105.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $102.58 and a 200 day moving average of $99.13.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid 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 3.54%. 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.