OLD Republic International Corp Grows Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

OLD Republic International Corp lifted its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 369,300 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. OLD Republic International Corp owned about 0.07% of American Electric Power worth $40,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,767,425,000 after buying an additional 763,813 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company's stock worth $1,389,032,000 after purchasing an additional 543,054 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,808,003 shares of the company's stock worth $1,178,174,000 after purchasing an additional 283,311 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company's stock worth $793,510,000 after purchasing an additional 716,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AEP shares. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.31.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:AEP traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $104.17. The company had a trading volume of 2,703,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,221,654. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $86.83 and a twelve month high of $110.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $55.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.42. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $103.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.96.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,658 shares in the company, valued at $991,683.44. This trade represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the firm's 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

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.