Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Takes $284,000 Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BLB&B Advisors LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 3,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.4% during the third quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 14,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AEP shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, March 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on American Electric Power from $92.00 to $86.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. UBS Group downgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim cut American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.08.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP traded down $1.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $85.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,975,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,758,052. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.38 and a 52 week high of $93.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $83.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.42. The firm has a market cap of $44.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.51.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $5.12 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The company’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 82.82%.

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.