Janus Henderson Group PLC Trims Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Janus Henderson Group PLC reduced its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 33.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,513,856 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,239,394 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.47% of American Electric Power worth $231,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $220,983,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $121,605,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in American Electric Power by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,120,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $472,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,317 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in American Electric Power by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,767,425,000 after acquiring an additional 763,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 738,756 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $104.68 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.93 and a twelve month high of $110.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $105.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.26. The stock has a market cap of $55.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. The company had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley set a $114.00 price objective on American Electric Power and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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, Barclays boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.77.

American Electric Power Company Profile

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.