American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $95.11 and last traded at $95.05, with a volume of 471653 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $93.64.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AEP. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. StockNews.com raised American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Barclays raised their target price on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Guggenheim raised their target price on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.77.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $89.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.09 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

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

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $440,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares in the company, valued at $580,140. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $440,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares in the company, valued at $580,140. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $563,476.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.