Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Takes Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Key Points

• Reaves W H & Co. Inc. has acquired a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. by purchasing 275,730 shares valued at approximately $30.1 million, representing 0.05% of the company's stock.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for AEP, with Barclays setting it at $111.00, while Raymond James increased theirs to $122.00, indicating a generally positive outlook.
• The company reported earnings of $1.43 EPS for the latest quarter, beating estimates and demonstrating an 11.1% revenue increase year-over-year, alongside a quarterly dividend announcement of $0.93 per share.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. bought a new position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 275,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,129,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. owned about 0.05% of American Electric Power as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Clarius Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.5% during the first quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 3,966 shares of the company's stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,468 shares of the company's stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 27,889 shares of the company's stock worth $2,572,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its position in American Electric Power by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 4,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,045,276.76. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,658 shares in the company, valued at $991,683.44. This trade represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

American Electric Power stock traded down $1.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $112.50. The company had a trading volume of 2,706,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,614,643. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $105.52 and a 200-day moving average of $104.43. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $89.91 and a 52 week high of $115.36. The firm has a market cap of $60.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on American Electric Power from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $111.29.

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.