American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Short Interest Update

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,450,000 shares, an increase of 7.0% from the October 15th total of 6,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,810,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.27.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $96.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 2.78 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fortem Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 2,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 3,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 327,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,576,000 after acquiring an additional 57,019 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $877,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,524,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,280,655,000 after acquiring an additional 352,588 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.