Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC Lowers Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC cut its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,850 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,051 shares during the quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 4,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,367,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,044,000 after purchasing an additional 11,593 shares during the period. Altus Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,827 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth about $5,978,000. Finally, Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 461,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,513,000 after acquiring an additional 23,094 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on AEP shares. StockNews.com lowered American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Guggenheim lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Cfra reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. UBS Group lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.15.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $80.91 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.38 and a 12-month high of $94.73.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.03). American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 11.64%. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 82.82%.

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.