Founders Financial Alliance LLC Raises Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Founders Financial Alliance LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,909 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,288 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 4,370 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 436.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 5,771 shares during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth about $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 3.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after acquiring an additional 19,081 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP opened at $107.32 on Tuesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.16 and a 52-week high of $109.52. 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 company has a market cap of $57.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $99.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.71.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.46.

American Electric Power Company 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.