AM Investment Strategies LLC Invests $205,000 in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

AM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 222.0% during the 3rd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 304.8% during the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. JNBA Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 91.6% during the 3rd quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $86.86. The company had a trading volume of 3,239,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,767,831. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.33. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $94.21. The stock has a market cap of $45.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 3.02 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.03). American Electric Power had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.05%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group cut American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. StockNews.com cut American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Cfra reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.08.

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.