Avitas Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Avitas Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,629 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 10,177.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,982,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963,154 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in American Electric Power by 542.4% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,282,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,927,234 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in American Electric Power by 381.9% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,995,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581,734 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 221.9% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,715,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 578.2% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 975,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,948,000 after buying an additional 831,235 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.43.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $97.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.18. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.37 and a 12 month high of $105.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.54.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. Analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.6 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.10%.

American Electric Power 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.