Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Acquires New Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $725,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 118,566 shares of the company's stock worth $10,969,000 after acquiring an additional 5,323 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 43.3% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 541,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,955,000 after purchasing an additional 163,722 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $424,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,967,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 404,280 shares of the company's stock worth $37,287,000 after buying an additional 29,177 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays boosted 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. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $114.00 price objective on shares of American Electric Power and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.77.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $98.59 on Thursday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.93 and a twelve month high of $110.48. The company has a market cap of $52.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The business's 50 day moving average price is $105.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.26. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. The business had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is presently 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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