American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,960,000 shares, a decline of 14.8% from the March 31st total of 24,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,210,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.1 %

AEP stock opened at $107.69 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $57.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $105.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.05. American Electric Power has a fifty-two week low of $85.93 and a fifty-two week high of $110.48.

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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AEP. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $114.00 target price on American Electric Power and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 10.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,249,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,764,000 after buying an additional 213,153 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 127.8% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at approximately $589,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,075,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,498,000 after buying an additional 738,756 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.