Investment Management Corp of Ontario Increases Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 50.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,542 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. FMR LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,163 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,543,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,191,000 after purchasing an additional 341,846 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 109.5% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in American Electric Power by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,378,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,433,000 after purchasing an additional 35,769 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in American Electric Power by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,183,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,596,000 after purchasing an additional 51,467 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP opened at $96.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $98.45 and a 200 day moving average of $95.89. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on AEP. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued 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 target price of $98.20.

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.