Empirical Finance LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 17,744 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vectors Research Management LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC now owns 18,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 5.6% during the third quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 6,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 204,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,012,000 after buying an additional 3,712 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at $313,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.5% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.27.

American Electric Power Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of AEP opened at $96.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $51.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.41. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.22 and a 1 year high of $105.18. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.15.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 74.55%.

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.