Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Increases Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,183 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,075 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $5,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,114,954 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,524,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,655,000 after purchasing an additional 352,588 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 18.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,163 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 100,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in American Electric Power by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,844,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,551,000 after acquiring an additional 84,704 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank cut shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America raised shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 target price (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 assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.46.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP stock opened at $105.56 on Friday. 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 quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released 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 last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.43%.

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.