Gray Wealth Management Inc. Increases Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Gray Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,628 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 274 shares during the quarter. Gray Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 14.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,591,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,150,657,000 after acquiring an additional 3,589,451 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 14,892,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,120,240,000 after purchasing an additional 587,145 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,798,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $737,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181,706 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 5.1% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,714,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,308,000 after buying an additional 374,300 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in American Electric Power by 1.5% in the second quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,033,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,826,000 after buying an additional 75,124 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:AEP traded up $1.32 on Thursday, reaching $82.56. 3,544,210 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,772,691. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $43.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.51. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.38 and a 12 month high of $94.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.85.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.12 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 11.64%. American Electric Power’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 82.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AEP. Cfra restated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com downgraded American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Guggenheim lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho cut shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.08.

American Electric Power 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.