Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 11,116 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 136,153 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,116 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $11,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,918 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in American Electric Power by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 344,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,970,000 after purchasing an additional 4,926 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 167.9% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 9,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $772,000 after acquiring an additional 5,958 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 231.2% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 107,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,715,000 after buying an additional 74,900 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $580,140. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of AEP stock opened at $100.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.95. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.38 and a fifty-two week high of $104.41.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.77.

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.