Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 416 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $105.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.29 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.16 and a 1-year high of $109.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank downgraded American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.46.

About American Electric Power

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.