Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Grows Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,256 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,501 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 38,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,517,000 after acquiring an additional 2,942 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 771,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,159,000 after acquiring an additional 30,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 209,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,283,000 after acquiring an additional 4,288 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $102.20 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.16 and a 12 month high of $105.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.96.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.48% and a return on equity of 11.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Equities analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.