American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Short Interest Up 11.8% in February

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

American Electric Power Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $92.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $91.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.28. American Electric Power has a 1 year low of $80.30 and a 1 year high of $105.60. The stock has a market cap of $47.58 billion, a PE ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.44.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 10th were issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 9th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on American Electric Power from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Credit Suisse Group raised their price target on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on American Electric Power from $112.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American Electric Power from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $108.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Electric Power

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 61.5% during the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 22,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,144,000 after purchasing an additional 8,599 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 46,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,414,000 after purchasing an additional 4,105 shares in the last quarter. Gallagher Benefit Services Inc. purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $895,000. Cascade Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $252,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 7,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 1,528 shares during the last quarter. 74.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About American Electric Power

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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.