Westside Investment Management Inc. Raises Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,422 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 114 shares during the quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 10,177.1% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,982,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963,154 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 109.5% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962,125 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in American Electric Power by 4.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,760,223,000 after buying an additional 1,114,954 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 18.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $80,207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $97.49 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.11. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AEP shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America upgraded American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power 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.