American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.93

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 29th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.93 per share on Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th.

American Electric Power has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 15 years. American Electric Power has a payout ratio of 59.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect American Electric Power to earn $6.29 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 59.1%.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $107.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,984,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,152,079. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $105.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.05. The firm has a market cap of $57.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Electric Power has a 12-month low of $85.93 and a 12-month high of $110.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on AEP shares. Morgan Stanley set a $114.00 price target on shares of American Electric Power and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $101.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in American Electric Power stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,601 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

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.