Eagle Ridge Investment Management Buys New Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Eagle Ridge Investment Management bought a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AEP. FMR LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 639,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,136,000 after purchasing an additional 127,047 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter worth about $240,000. Teza Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 41.6% during the third quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 12,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $941,000 after acquiring an additional 3,676 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 9,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $229,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of AEP traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $87.62. 2,007,291 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,385,795. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $46.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $88.84 and its 200-day moving average is $84.19. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.38 and a fifty-two week high of $93.44.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.02%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total transaction of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $563,476.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other American Electric Power news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,140. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.