Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 25.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,933 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,002 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $401,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in American Electric Power by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,367,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,044,000 after buying an additional 11,593 shares in the last quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,378,000 after buying an additional 1,827 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $5,978,000. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL grew its position in American Electric Power by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 461,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,513,000 after buying an additional 23,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department grew its position in American Electric Power by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 19,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,575,000 after buying an additional 2,455 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Trading Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ AEP opened at $81.24 on Thursday. 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 current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $82.62 and a 200-day moving average of $79.85. The firm has a market cap of $42.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.03). The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 82.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim cut 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Cfra reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. UBS Group cut 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. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $75.50 to $73.00 in a report on Friday, March 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.