Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Has $18.27 Million Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lessened its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 224,882 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,793 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $18,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 304.8% in the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. JNBA Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 91.6% in the 3rd quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock traded up $0.71 on Wednesday, hitting $90.58. 2,051,962 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,731,253. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $47.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.38 and a 12-month high of $92.10.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. Analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on AEP shares. Guggenheim downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.14.

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.