Founders Financial Alliance LLC Decreases Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Founders Financial Alliance LLC trimmed its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,257 shares of the company’s stock after selling 299 shares during the quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $812,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 57.2% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Guggenheim upped 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Scotiabank increased 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 report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.43.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $102.60 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $54.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $99.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.83. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $105.18.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.6 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 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.