O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Acquires 15,825 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 94,645 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,825 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $8,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $220,983,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,962,125 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew 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 valued at $2,760,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,954 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the third quarter worth $80,207,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in American Electric Power by 1.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 2.2 %

AEP opened at $109.27 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $103.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.14. The company has a market capitalization of $58.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a PEG 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 $109.76.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 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 company earned $1.23 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AEP. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.77.

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.