Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Has $475,000 Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lifted its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,148 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.46.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $106.05 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.16 and a 1-year high of $107.84. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $97.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS 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 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

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.