Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Acquires 33,118 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 204,067 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 33,118 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $18,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 304.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 70,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,548,000 after buying an additional 53,429 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 12,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on AEP shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price 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. Scotiabank cut American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $98.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $94.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.19. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.22 and a 52-week high of $105.18. The company has a market cap of $52.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.56.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 3.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.