Royal Fund Management LLC Takes $1.07 Million Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Royal Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 12,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,070,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AEP. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power in the first quarter worth $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $96.94. 2,978,604 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,292,669. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.38 and a 52 week high of $104.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.53. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $92.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.35.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released 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 business had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $580,140. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,140. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $563,476.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AEP. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $96.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.38.

American Electric Power 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.