Ellsworth Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 52,778 American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 52,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,868,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares during the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,404,000. J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth approximately $419,000. ING Groep NV grew its position in American Electric Power by 244.3% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 294,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,217,000 after acquiring an additional 208,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $303,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America raised American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank cut American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP stock opened at $97.25 on Monday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.22 and a 1 year high of $105.18. The company has a market cap of $51.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.52 and a 200 day moving average of $96.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.55%.

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.