Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 2,991 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 135,006 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $12,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $107.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $57.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a fifty day moving average of $97.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.20. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.16 and a 52-week high of $107.84. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $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 fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Company 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.