New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 53,165 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 649,370 shares of the company’s stock after selling 53,165 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.12% of American Electric Power worth $52,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at $219,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 227.8% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after acquiring an additional 11,184 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 435.0% during the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 81,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,603,000 after purchasing an additional 66,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brendel Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $307,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $85.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $45.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.51. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $94.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company’s 50 day moving average is $83.19 and its 200 day moving average is $80.25.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.12 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 11.04%. American Electric Power’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 82.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the topic of several recent research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Cfra reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Mizuho cut American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. UBS Group cut American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.08.

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.