Courier Capital LLC Boosts Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Courier Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 4.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 16,776 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the quarter. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 57.2% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the first quarter worth about $26,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 935.9% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 404 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc increased its position in American Electric Power by 52.1% in the second quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc now owns 438 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the first quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.43.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $100.83 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $100.52 and a 200 day moving average of $93.63. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.75 and a 12 month high of $105.18. The firm has a market cap of $53.15 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 13.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

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.