Argyle Capital Management LLC Buys 830 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Argyle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,130 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. abrdn plc lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 20.5% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 359,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,967,000 after acquiring an additional 61,267 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 28.9% during the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 19,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,029,000 after purchasing an additional 3,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 40,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,177,000 after buying an additional 7,665 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $105.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.16 and a 52 week high of $107.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $97.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.31.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors 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 yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.46.

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.