Magellan Asset Management Ltd Sells 38,776 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd decreased its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 304,513 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,776 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.06% of American Electric Power worth $28,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a 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 company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.77.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $107.75 on Thursday. 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 market cap of $57.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.23. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.16 and a 12-month high of $109.76.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. 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.