Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Acquires 231 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,774 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $255,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $220,983,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in American Electric Power by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,767,425,000 after acquiring an additional 763,813 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in American Electric Power by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,075,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,498,000 after acquiring an additional 738,756 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 94.5% during the 4th quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,386,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,876,000 after acquiring an additional 673,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 168.0% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 917,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,645,000 after purchasing an additional 575,318 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $104.48 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $55.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $103.79 and a 200-day moving average of $99.23. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.16 and a 52-week high of $110.48.

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, hitting 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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. Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.