American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Acquired by Nomura Holdings Inc.

Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 43.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 541,639 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 163,722 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of American Electric Power worth $49,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company's stock worth $4,767,425,000 after buying an additional 763,813 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company's stock worth $1,389,032,000 after buying an additional 543,054 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $1,178,174,000 after buying an additional 283,311 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 716,229 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 51.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,416,474 shares of the company's stock worth $591,791,000 after buying an additional 2,165,888 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP traded up $1.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $103.04. 2,867,283 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,204,252. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.32. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.93 and a 52 week high of $110.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. American Electric Power's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $114.00 price target on American Electric Power and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.77.

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.