American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Position Reduced by OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp decreased its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 21,974 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,493 shares during the quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at $1,967,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 404,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,287,000 after buying an additional 29,177 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 51.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,416,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $591,791,000 after buying an additional 2,165,888 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 337.4% in the fourth quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 76,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,076,000 after buying an additional 59,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at $17,718,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 3.1%

American Electric Power stock opened at $101.61 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.93 and a 12 month high of $110.48. The stock has a market cap of $54.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. American Electric Power’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on AEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $114.00 price objective on shares of American Electric Power and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of 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 lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.77.

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.