Cerity Partners LLC Raises Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 11.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,813 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,336 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $12,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 30.4% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 19,631,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,145,130,000 after purchasing an additional 4,570,941 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 24.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 22,102,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,415,144,000 after buying an additional 4,323,569 shares in the last quarter. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the first quarter worth $153,524,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 318.8% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,244,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,144,000 after acquiring an additional 947,418 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in American Electric Power by 39.0% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,330,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,900,000 after acquiring an additional 934,287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Electric Power news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director directly owned 40,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,443,567.70. This represents a 10.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,006 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $112,672.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $635,712. This trade represents a 15.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 16,006 shares of company stock valued at $1,851,422 in the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Electric Power Stock Down 1.6%

AEP stock opened at $114.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.51. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $89.91 and a 12 month high of $124.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.61.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during 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%. American Electric Power’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.850-5.95 EPS. Equities analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $137.00 in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised shares of American Electric Power to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $128.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.85.

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.