HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Buys New Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 277,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,032,000. American Electric Power comprises approximately 2.0% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in American Electric Power by 72.2% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in American Electric Power by 7,300.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Optima Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 330.2% during the third quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID lifted its position in American Electric Power by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AEP shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $132.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.10.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $129.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.72 and a 12-month high of $139.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.67.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.07. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 10.21%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. Analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.80%.

American Electric Power Profile

American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.