Global Retirement Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,198 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Plan Group Financial LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 11,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at about $356,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 17,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after buying an additional 1,501 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AEP. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank cut shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $105.33 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $96.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.08. The company has a market cap of $56.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.58. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.16 and a 52-week high of $105.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.