Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 68,019 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 80.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 152,258 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,019 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $13,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth $1,615,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,731,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in American Electric Power by 381.9% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,995,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581,734 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 646.9% in the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 261,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,510,000 after purchasing an additional 226,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 21.7% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 582,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,170,000 after buying an additional 103,771 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $103.23 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $96.44 and its 200 day moving average is $89.96. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $69.38 and a one year high of $104.41. The firm has a market cap of $54.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 13.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.15.

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.