Simmons Bank Grows Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Simmons Bank lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,006 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 924 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $6,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 4,370 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 436.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 5,771 shares during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new position in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth approximately $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after buying an additional 19,081 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 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. Bank of America raised shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.3 %

American Electric Power stock opened at $107.70 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.20. 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 company 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. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.16 and a fifty-two week high of $107.84.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given 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 yield of 3.45%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

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.