Arizona State Retirement System Acquires 1,184 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 152,322 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $14,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP stock opened at $103.39 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $98.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.55. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.16 and a 1-year high of $109.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market cap of $55.13 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank downgraded American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.46.

American Electric Power 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.