Rafferty Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 198,350 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,137 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $18,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 4,370 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 436.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares in the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $419,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 136.6% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 13,714 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 7,918 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target 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, April 22nd. Bank of America upped 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. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.77.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $101.61 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $54.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.93 and a fifty-two week high of $110.48. The firm's 50 day moving average is $105.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.28.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. American Electric Power's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. 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 Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's payout ratio is currently 71.68%.

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.

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