Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Acquires Shares of 4,651 American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $508,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AEP. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bank of New Hampshire purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AEP shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.31.

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 owns 18,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,860,514.68. This trade represents a 30.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was 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. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,314 shares of company stock worth $3,508,293 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $101.20 on Thursday. 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 50 day moving average price is $104.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.15. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.93 and a 52-week high of $110.48. The company has a market cap of $54.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.42.

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 (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.68%.

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.

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