Fifth Third Bancorp Boosts Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 218,045 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,281 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $23,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New Hampshire acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Friday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.31.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of American Electric Power stock traded down $0.12 on Friday, hitting $102.90. 2,388,673 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,199,796. The company has a market capitalization of $54.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $104.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.09. 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 Company, Inc. has a one year low of $85.93 and a one year high of $110.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total value of $1,041,277.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total value of $829,387.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,707,116.12. This trade represents a 23.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,256 shares of company stock worth $2,688,472 in the last quarter. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.