Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Buys 620 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 38,590 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $3,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 18.1% in the second quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 4,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in American Electric Power by 10.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,459,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,094,000 after purchasing an additional 141,556 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in American Electric Power by 113.7% in the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 11,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 6,193 shares in the last quarter. Williams Financial LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power in the second quarter valued at about $876,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in American Electric Power by 3.3% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 16,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $104.95 on Tuesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $105.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $97.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.54. The firm has a market cap of $55.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.54.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 13.52%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $86.00 in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.15.

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.