Highland Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Highland Capital Management LLC decreased its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,413 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,070 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $5,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AEP. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 57.2% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 935.9% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc boosted its position in American Electric Power by 52.1% during the second quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc now owns 438 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ AEP opened at $98.19 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.82. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.37 and a twelve month high of $105.18. The company has a market capitalization of $51.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.54.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 13.52%. American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AEP. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.43.

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.