Hancock Whitney Corp Sells 189 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Hancock Whitney Corp lowered its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,385 shares of the company’s stock after selling 189 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased 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 buying an additional 341,846 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in American Electric Power by 1.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,378,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,433,000 after acquiring an additional 35,769 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in American Electric Power by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,183,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,596,000 after purchasing an additional 51,467 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 10,177.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,982,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,154 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 51.1% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,844,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,877,000 after buying an additional 623,789 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America increased 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 note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.93.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $99.33 on Wednesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.22 and a 12 month high of $105.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market cap of $52.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.55.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.55%.

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.