World Investment Advisors Raises Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 175.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,245 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,706 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SouthState Corp grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 6,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT increased its position in American Electric Power by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 12,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in American Electric Power by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AEP. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of 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 lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.77.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $104.48 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $79.16 and a one year high of $110.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $103.79 and a 200 day moving average of $99.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

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