Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases 37,900 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 9.4%, acquiring 37,900 shares to reach a total of 442,500 shares valued at approximately $48.35 million.
• American Electric Power reported $1.43 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.27, and had revenue of $5.09 billion, an 11.1% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%, with a payout ratio of 54.39%.

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 442,500 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 37,900 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of American Electric Power worth $48,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $793,510,000 after buying an additional 716,229 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,047,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $649,983,000 after buying an additional 85,756 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 51.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 27.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,851,264 shares of the company's stock valued at $447,432,000 after buying an additional 272,997 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP stock traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $113.58. 4,925,406 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,067,441. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.02. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $89.91 and a 12 month high of $114.38.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.39%.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, 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 value of $819,820.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,045,276.76. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value of $1,041,277.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at $991,683.44. This trade represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293 over the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $122.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $111.29.

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.