Apella Capital LLC Raises Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Apella Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,405 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ AEP opened at $95.12 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $94.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.78. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.22 and a 12 month high of $105.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $50.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.56.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 74.55%.

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.