Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Buys Shares of 5,737 American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $589,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 23.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 62,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,456,000 after purchasing an additional 6,080 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 228,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,072,000 after buying an additional 3,432 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in American Electric Power by 5.9% during the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 32,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,824,000 after buying an additional 1,805 shares during the period. Finally, Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.5% during the second quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 5,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AEP. Scotiabank cut shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.13.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP opened at $92.71 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.55. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $97.50 and a 200 day moving average of $96.17.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 74.55%.

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.