Ignite Planners LLC Buys 249 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Ignite Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,466 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 3,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 4.2% in the first quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 14,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total transaction of $518,910.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other American Electric Power news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total transaction of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,140. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Electric Power Price Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $88.14 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.98. The company has a market capitalization of $46.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.38 and a 1 year high of $93.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.54.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AEP shares. Cfra reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.62.

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.