Short Interest in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Decreases By 8.9%

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,850,000 shares, a decline of 8.9% from the September 15th total of 8,620,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc lifted its position in American Electric Power by 52.1% in the 2nd quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc now owns 438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AEP. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank boosted 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, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.07.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $99.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $100.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.06. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $52.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.49, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.54. American Electric Power has a 52 week low of $72.01 and a 52 week high of $105.18.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s 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.