First Trust Advisors LP Has $151.73 Million Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,645,156 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 116,977 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.31% of American Electric Power worth $151,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,767,425,000 after buying an additional 763,813 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company's stock worth $1,389,032,000 after acquiring an additional 543,054 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,808,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,178,174,000 after purchasing an additional 283,311 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company's stock worth $793,510,000 after acquiring an additional 716,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,644,349 shares of the company's stock valued at $427,009,000 after acquiring an additional 100,578 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $114.00 price objective on American Electric Power and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $101.69.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $106.16. 750,068 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,156,831. The business has a 50 day moving average of $105.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.15 and a 1 year high of $110.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.