International Assets Investment Management LLC Acquires 15,539 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Key Points

• International Assets Investment Management increased its American Electric Power stake by 397.7% in the third quarter, purchasing 15,539 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 19,446 shares worth approximately $2.3 million.
• Wall Street maintains a generally positive view of AEP, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.50; 16 analysts rate the stock Buy and eight rate it Hold.
• AEP reported quarterly earnings of $2.23 per share, beating expectations, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year to $6.83 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.97 per share, implying a 3.0% annual yield.

International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 397.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,446 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 15,539 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the second quarter worth $6,980,601,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 5.4% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,872,005 shares of the company's stock worth $1,897,829,000 after purchasing an additional 715,613 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the second quarter worth $1,678,638,000. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the second quarter valued at $1,404,094,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the second quarter valued at $680,638,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AEP. HSBC initiated coverage on American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $145.90 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. UBS Group set a $135.00 price objective on American Electric Power in a research report on Monday, October 19th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on American Electric Power from $139.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Electric Power from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.50.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $130.33 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.00. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $112.54 and a 12 month high of $140.58.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.55 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 14.21%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. Analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 6.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.97 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a boost from American Electric Power's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. American Electric Power's payout ratio is presently 62.68%.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In other news, CAO Kate Dixon sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,982,000. The trade was a 11.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power NASDAQ: AEP is an electric utility holding company that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers. Through its operating companies, AEP provides regulated electric service and manages power generation assets using a mix of energy resources, including natural gas, coal, nuclear, hydroelectric and renewable energy.

AEP operates one of the largest electric transmission systems in the United States and supplies electricity across portions of Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

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