Principal Securities Inc. Has $485,000 Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 23.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,257 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America raised American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.9 %

AEP stock opened at $105.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $56.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.58. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.16 and a twelve month high of $105.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $96.51 and a 200-day moving average of $98.09.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

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.