Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Decreases Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lowered its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 77.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,627 shares of the company's stock after selling 56,595 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AEP. Citigroup raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" 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 report on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.77.

American Electric Power Trading Down 1.9%

NASDAQ:AEP traded down $2.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $102.67. 712,054 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,152,119. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $105.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.26. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.93 and a 12-month high of $110.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.