Buck Wealth Strategies LLC Acquires New Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Buck Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 13,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,452,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AEP. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $220,983,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,416,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $591,791,000 after buying an additional 2,165,888 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 13,499.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,150,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,954,000 after buying an additional 2,134,404 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $121,605,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 27.5% in the 4th 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. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AEP. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.31.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP stock traded up $1.56 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $103.31. 3,327,120 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,201,636. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.93 and a 12 month high of $110.48. The company has a market cap of $55.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.42. The company's 50 day moving average price is $104.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.42.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 11.68%. The business had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. American Electric Power's payout ratio is currently 71.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were 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 directly owns 9,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at $991,683.44. This trade represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total transaction of $819,820.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,045,276.76. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,314 shares of company stock worth $3,508,293 in the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.