Balanced Wealth Group LLC Makes New Investment in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Balanced Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in American Electric Power by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,767,425,000 after purchasing an additional 763,813 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,389,032,000 after buying an additional 543,054 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,808,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,178,174,000 after buying an additional 283,311 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,510,000 after acquiring an additional 716,229 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,047,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $649,983,000 after acquiring an additional 85,756 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AEP shares. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total value of $1,041,277.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $991,683.44. This trade represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.49, for a total value of $817,806.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,860,514.68. This represents a 30.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,256 shares of company stock worth $2,688,472 in the last quarter. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP opened at $101.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $104.11 and a 200 day moving average of $101.06. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.93 and a fifty-two week high of $110.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.68%.

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.