American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Bought by Maple Brown Abbott Ltd

Maple Brown Abbott Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,688,890 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 78,510 shares during the period. American Electric Power makes up approximately 14.1% of Maple Brown Abbott Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd owned about 0.32% of American Electric Power worth $137,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 222.0% during the third quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at $28,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AEP shares. Guggenheim cut American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Cfra reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.15.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP stock traded up $1.53 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $81.04. 1,262,114 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,760,695. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.38 and a twelve month high of $94.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $42.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.85.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.12 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 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.