JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,637,991 shares of the company’s stock after selling 437,041 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.50% of American Electric Power worth $243,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter worth $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AEP. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. 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. Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.77.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP stock opened at $109.27 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.16 and a 12 month high of $109.76. The stock has a market cap of $58.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $103.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.14.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 66.43%.

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.