American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Bought by James Investment Research Inc.

James Investment Research Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 159.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,182 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,172 shares during the period. James Investment Research Inc.'s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $3,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Clarius Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 3,966 shares of the company's stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. SouthState Corp raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 6,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 27,889 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,572,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.31.

Insider Activity

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

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock traded up $1.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $107.65. 1,758,205 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,221,097. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $89.91 and a 1 year high of $110.48. The company has a market capitalization of $57.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $102.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. American Electric Power's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.68%.

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.