abrdn plc Buys 15,791 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

abrdn plc grew its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 375,499 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,791 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $34,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. XML Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.8% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in 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 valued at $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY boosted its stake 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 valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First United Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 17.1% during the third quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $99.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $95.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.67. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.22 and a 1 year high of $105.18. The stock has a market cap of $52.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.58.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased 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 downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lowered 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 research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

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.