Sowell Financial Services LLC Purchases Shares of 6,935 American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $758,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. SouthState Corp lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 27,889 shares of the company's stock worth $2,572,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 4,537 shares of the company's stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

American Electric Power stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $101.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,083,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,211,986. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.93 and a 12-month high of $110.48. The company has a market capitalization of $54.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.42. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $104.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.21.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. American Electric Power's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's payout ratio is 71.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.49, for a total value of $817,806.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,860,514.68. This trade represents a 30.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $991,683.44. The trade was a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of 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. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. 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 research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.31.

American Electric Power 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.