American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) is Stack Financial Management Inc’s 10th Largest Position

Stack Financial Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 56.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 299,425 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 108,389 shares during the quarter. American Electric Power comprises 2.5% of Stack Financial Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Stack Financial Management Inc owned approximately 0.06% of American Electric Power worth $27,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter worth $33,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.9 %

AEP opened at $106.29 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.13. The company has a market cap of $56.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $79.16 and a one year high of $107.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities 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 will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 66.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank cut shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

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.