Financial Advocates Investment Management Sells 227 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Financial Advocates Investment Management lessened its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,702 shares of the company’s stock after selling 227 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AEP. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at about $1,731,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in American Electric Power by 381.9% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,995,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581,734 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 646.9% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 261,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,510,000 after acquiring an additional 226,435 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $50,170,000 after purchasing an additional 103,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 60.3% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 49,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,285,000 after purchasing an additional 18,726 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Trading Down 1.5 %

AEP stock opened at $97.25 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $74.97 and a 52 week high of $105.18. The company has a market capitalization of $51.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.65.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. 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 70.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.43.

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.