Allstate Corp Buys New Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 15,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,468,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in American Electric Power by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 106,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,959,000 after purchasing an additional 10,173 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 6.4% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 114,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,753,000 after buying an additional 6,928 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter worth about $19,550,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 258.9% in the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 55,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,688,000 after acquiring an additional 39,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of AEP stock opened at $106.96 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market cap of $57.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $102.78 and a 200-day moving average of $99.10. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.16 and a 12-month high of $109.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 last year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given 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 3.48%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Scotiabank cut American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.77.

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.