Cetera Investment Advisers Sells 46,226 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Cetera Investment Advisers reduced its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 20.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 176,539 shares of the company’s stock after selling 46,226 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in American Electric Power were worth $15,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at $175,667,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 542.4% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,282,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,927,234 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake 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 valued at $171,127,000 after buying an additional 1,581,734 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in American Electric Power by 221.9% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,715,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,140,000 after buying an additional 1,182,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in American Electric Power by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,586,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,055,000 after buying an additional 1,043,885 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.79.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $100.28 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $105.18. The business’s fifty day moving average is $100.29 and its 200 day 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. The firm has a market cap of $52.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.54.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given 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 was Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 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.