Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 13,344 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 188,746 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,344 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in American Electric Power were worth $17,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,767,425,000 after acquiring an additional 763,813 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,389,032,000 after purchasing an additional 543,054 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,808,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,178,174,000 after purchasing an additional 283,311 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in American Electric Power by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company's stock worth $793,510,000 after buying an additional 716,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,120,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,270,000 after buying an additional 1,105,317 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Trading Down 1.0%

American Electric Power stock traded down $0.97 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $98.59. The stock had a trading volume of 5,206,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,185,286. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.27. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.93 and a 52 week high of $110.48. The stock has a market cap of $52.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. American Electric Power's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AEP. Citigroup lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.77.

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.