XTX Topco Ltd Purchases New Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd has acquired a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP), purchasing 23,313 shares valued at approximately $2.5 million during the first quarter.
• American Electric Power reported strong earnings for the last quarter, with earnings per share of $1.54, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.40, and an 8.7% year-over-year revenue increase to $5.46 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share, corresponding to an annualized dividend of $3.72 and a yield of 3.41%.

XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 23,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,547,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 35,048 shares of the company's stock worth $3,829,000 after purchasing an additional 3,343 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the first quarter worth $810,000. FSA Advisors Inc. bought a new position in American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at $285,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 122.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 23,663 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,586,000 after acquiring an additional 13,045 shares during the period. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth about $246,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $113.58. 4,925,406 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,067,441. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock's 50 day moving average is $104.39 and its 200 day moving average is $103.82. The company has a market cap of $60.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.40. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $89.91 and a 12-month high of $114.38.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.16. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 17.68%. The business had revenue of $5.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total transaction of $819,820.92. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,314 shares of company stock worth $3,508,293 over the last quarter. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AEP. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $122.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.29.

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.