Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 13,995 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 620,948 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,995 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $54,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AEP shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America upped their target price on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.77.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $100.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $104.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.81.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares in the company, valued at $580,140. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.