Fire Capital Management LLC Purchases New Shares in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $464,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $220,983,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 51.0% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,416,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $591,791,000 after buying an additional 2,165,888 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $121,605,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 27.5% in the fourth 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. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% in the fourth 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. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total transaction of $1,041,277.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays raised their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.69.

American Electric Power Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of AEP stock opened at $101.68 on Thursday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.93 and a fifty-two week high of $110.48. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.60. The stock has a market cap of $54.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. On average, 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.68%.

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.