Blue Trust Inc. Purchases 3,445 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 94.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,109 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,445 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 18,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,924,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new position in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at about $235,000. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in American Electric Power by 74.5% during the third quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $830,000 after acquiring an additional 3,443 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 20.8% in the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 13,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Electric Power from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.43.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.5 %

AEP opened at $100.16 on Tuesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.01 and a twelve month high of $105.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $100.49 and a 200-day moving average of $93.52. The stock has a market cap of $52.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.