MFA Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 37.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,208 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth approximately $1,615,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth $1,731,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 381.9% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,995,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581,734 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 646.9% during the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 261,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,510,000 after buying an additional 226,435 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 21.7% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 582,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,170,000 after buying an additional 103,771 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP stock opened at $100.83 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.48. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.75 and a 1 year high of $105.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $100.52 and a 200 day moving average of $93.63. The company has a market cap of $53.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.54.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.6 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.43.

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.