Delta Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Delta Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Stockton increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 5,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a report on Thursday, June 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.79.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP opened at $101.37 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.65. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.38 and a 1 year high of $105.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.54.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

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.