Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 1,100 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 70,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $7,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AEP. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Stockton increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% during the second quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 5,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust raised its stake in American Electric Power by 17.1% during the third quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.9% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AEP. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.43.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $98.19 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $74.37 and a 52 week high of $105.18. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $100.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.82. The company has a market cap of $51.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.54.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.02%.

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.