Dodge & Cox Reduces Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Dodge & Cox lowered its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,572,403 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,239,147 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $993,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 84.3% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 19.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,193,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,202,000 after buying an additional 675,729 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,269,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,711,519,000 after acquiring an additional 579,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 35,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,825,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their target price on American Electric Power from $108.50 to $124.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $128.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Cowen started coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.85.

Insider Activity

In other American Electric Power news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.65, for a total value of $543,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,443,567.70. The trade was a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,006 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $112,672.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $635,712. The trade was a 15.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 16,006 shares of company stock worth $1,851,422 in the last quarter. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $118.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.09. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $89.91 and a one year high of $124.80. The firm has a market cap of $63.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.69.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.81 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.65 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 11.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.850-5.95 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 55.39%.

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.