Altus Wealth Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Altus Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,858 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter worth about $1,615,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,731,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in American Electric Power by 381.9% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,995,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581,734 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 646.9% during the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 261,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,510,000 after purchasing an additional 226,435 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 21.7% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 582,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,170,000 after purchasing an additional 103,771 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $103.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market cap of $54.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s fifty day moving average is $95.52 and its 200 day moving average is $89.41. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.38 and a twelve month high of $104.41.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. 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. Guggenheim increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.77.

American Electric Power Company 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.