Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Boosts Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 244.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,947 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,933 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AEP. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.46.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $104.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $100.22 and a 200 day moving average of $98.82. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.16 and a 52-week high of $109.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 66.43%.

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.