Employees Retirement System of Texas Invests $8.32 Million in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 94,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,321,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AEP. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $175,667,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 542.4% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,282,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,927,234 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 381.9% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,995,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581,734 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 221.9% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,715,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182,451 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,586,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,885 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.43.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $101.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $53.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.54. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $69.38 and a one year high of $105.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $99.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.38.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 13.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.6 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

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.