GQG Partners LLC Purchases 543,054 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

GQG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,060,525 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 543,054 shares during the period. American Electric Power comprises 2.1% of GQG Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. GQG Partners LLC owned 2.83% of American Electric Power worth $1,389,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AEP. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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 research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.92.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $104.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $79.16 and a one year high of $109.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $102.08 and a 200 day moving average of $99.05.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.57%. 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.