Hixon Zuercher LLC Buys 1,143 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Hixon Zuercher LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,833 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares during the quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 10,177.1% during the third 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. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 109.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,079,000 after buying an additional 1,962,125 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,760,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,954 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 18.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,549,000 after buying an additional 1,087,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth about $80,207,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $98.03 on Friday. 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 Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.22 and a 1 year high of $105.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.09 and a 200 day moving average of $97.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.56.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.