Bleakley Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,529 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 977 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 4.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,760,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,954 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,524,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,655,000 after purchasing an additional 352,588 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,163 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 8.1% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,543,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,191,000 after buying an additional 341,846 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 109.5% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,079,000 after buying an additional 1,962,125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America raised American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $100.35 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $53.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.58. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.55%.

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.