American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock Holdings Lessened by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp lowered its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 44.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,796 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,437 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $552,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 222.0% in the third quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 304.8% during the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors grew its position in American Electric Power by 91.6% during the 3rd quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AEP. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $92.00 to $86.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Cfra reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Mizuho cut shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.08.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.6 %

American Electric Power stock opened at $86.86 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.38 and a 12 month high of $94.21. The stock has a market cap of $45.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.51.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.12 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 11.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.82%.

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.