American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Short Interest Up 7.2% in November

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,180,000 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the November 15th total of 7,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,760,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 57.2% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 935.9% during the 2nd 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. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 52.1% during the 2nd quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc now owns 438 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $91.77 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $97.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.19. American Electric Power has a 1-year low of $75.22 and a 1-year high of $105.18. The firm has a market cap of $48.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. 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 dividend yield of 4.05%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AEP. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.13.

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.