American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) is Viking Fund Management LLC’s 7th Largest Position

Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 16.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 154,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,000 shares during the quarter. American Electric Power accounts for approximately 2.4% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $13,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,225,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,998,081,000 after acquiring an additional 425,649 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,591,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,150,657,000 after acquiring an additional 3,589,451 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 14,892,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,120,240,000 after acquiring an additional 587,145 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,714,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,308,000 after acquiring an additional 374,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,311,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,304,000 after acquiring an additional 660,599 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of AEP traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $88.19. 2,338,211 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,400,338. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.38 and a 1 year high of $93.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $88.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.05.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 14.60%. The firm had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $440,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $580,140. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $440,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $580,140. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at $563,476.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. UBS Group downgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.62.

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.