Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 30.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 188,003 shares of the company’s stock after selling 81,361 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $17,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,767,425,000 after purchasing an additional 763,813 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,760,223,000 after buying an additional 1,114,954 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,389,032,000 after buying an additional 543,054 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 2.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,524,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,280,655,000 after buying an additional 352,588 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,644,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,009,000 after buying an additional 100,578 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $106.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $57.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.16 and a 52-week high of $109.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $102.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.12.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.77.

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.