Carret Asset Management LLC Grows Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Carret Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,446 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,372 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $4,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AEP. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in American Electric Power by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,591,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,150,657,000 after purchasing an additional 3,589,451 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in American Electric Power by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 14,892,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,120,240,000 after purchasing an additional 587,145 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in American Electric Power by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,798,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $737,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181,706 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in American Electric Power by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,714,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,308,000 after purchasing an additional 374,300 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,428,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,077,000 after purchasing an additional 98,897 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP traded up $0.81 on Wednesday, hitting $86.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,865,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,774,513. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.25. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.38 and a 1 year high of $94.73. The company has a market capitalization of $45.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 82.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, March 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Mizuho downgraded American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Barclays increased their price target on American Electric Power from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on American Electric Power from $92.00 to $86.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.08.

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.