Citigroup Inc. Increases Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 36.2%, owning approximately 0.17% of the company, valued at $96.5 million.
• The recent quarterly earnings report showed American Electric Power exceeding analyst expectations with $1.43 EPS and $5.09 billion in revenue.
• American Electric Power announced a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.3%.

Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 36.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 883,013 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 234,548 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.17% of American Electric Power worth $96,487,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AEP. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,269,781 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,711,519,000 after purchasing an additional 579,175 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,047,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $649,983,000 after purchasing an additional 85,756 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 51.0% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,416,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $591,791,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165,888 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 27.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,105,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,851,264 shares of the company's stock valued at $447,432,000 after purchasing an additional 272,997 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AEP. Citigroup boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective 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, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $111.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total transaction of $819,820.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,045,276.76. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,041,277.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,658 shares in the company, valued at $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.0%

American Electric Power stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $111.99. 2,576,390 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,626,442. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $105.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $59.89 billion, a PE ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.40. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $89.91 and a one year high of $115.36.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.16. American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. American Electric Power's payout ratio is presently 54.39%.

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.