Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. XML Financial LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 0.6% during the third quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 19,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% during the third quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY now owns 5,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. increased its position in American Electric Power by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $106.05 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $97.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.38. The stock has a market cap of $56.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.16 and a 12-month high of $107.84.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 66.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI decreased 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 report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. 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 note on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank cut shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.46.

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.