American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 224,882 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,793 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $18,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in American Electric Power by 14.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,591,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,150,657,000 after purchasing an additional 3,589,451 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in American Electric Power by 13.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,798,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $737,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181,706 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd boosted its position in American Electric Power by 70.7% during the third quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,953,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,835,000 after purchasing an additional 809,067 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 18.1% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,311,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,304,000 after purchasing an additional 660,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in American Electric Power by 4.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $90.58. The stock had a trading volume of 2,051,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,731,253. The company has a market cap of $47.75 billion, a PE ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.38 and a fifty-two week high of $92.10.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 14.60%. The company had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group lowered American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on American Electric Power from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.14.

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.