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

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 7,300,000 shares, an increase of 11.8% from the February 13th total of 6,530,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,870,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cfra boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 24th. Bank of America cut American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $101.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Monday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American Electric Power from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $108.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.83.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.0 %

AEP stock opened at $90.25 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.44. American Electric Power has a 52 week low of $80.30 and a 52 week high of $105.60.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. American Electric Power had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 10.75%. The business had revenue of $4.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 10th were issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 9th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 1,004 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total value of $90,751.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,059,099.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Electric Power news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total value of $90,751.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,059,099.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.99, for a total transaction of $80,435.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,331 shares in the company, valued at $667,047.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 63,897 shares of company stock worth $5,723,900 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 46,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,414,000 after acquiring an additional 4,105 shares during the last quarter. Gallagher Benefit Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $895,000. Cascade Investment Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $252,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 7,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 1,528 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.33% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Company Profile

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American Electric Power Co, Inc engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through the following segments: Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation and Marketing. The Vertically Integrated Utilities segment covers the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers.