American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Short Interest Up 7.2% in November

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) saw a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,180,000 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the November 15th total of 7,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,760,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on AEP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.13.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $92.71 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $97.50 and a 200-day moving average of $96.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.55. American Electric Power has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 74.55%.

Institutional Trading of American Electric Power

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.3% during 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 holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,524,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,655,000 after buying an additional 352,588 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 18.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,163 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 8.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 341,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 109.5% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962,125 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.