Moody National Bank Trust Division Boosts Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,420 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Therace Risch 5,274 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total transaction of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Therace Risch 5,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The disclosure for this trade can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AEP shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.46.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP stock traded down $3.73 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $98.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,951,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,288,227. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $90.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.22. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.38 and a fifty-two week high of $104.41. The stock has a market cap of $51.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 13.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

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.