Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Purchases Shares of 1,526 American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $157,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Stockton increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% during the second quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 5,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 17.1% during the third quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $266,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.43.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of AEP traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $100.23. The company had a trading volume of 901,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,128,375. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $100.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.41. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.01 and a 52-week high of $105.18. 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 (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.6 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 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.