Peak Retirement Planning Inc. Acquires Shares of 2,766 American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Peak Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 4.3% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. SouthState Corp boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 6,611 shares of the company's stock worth $610,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in American Electric Power by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 4,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,112 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,883 shares of the company's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. Guggenheim raised their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.69.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was 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 now directly owns 9,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $991,683.44. This trade represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ:AEP traded up $0.82 on Thursday, reaching $102.50. The stock had a trading volume of 792,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,197,413. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The company has a market capitalization of $54.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.93 and a 1-year high of $110.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $104.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.60.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. The company had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio 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.