Centaurus Financial Inc. Grows Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Rating) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,815 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEP. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Paragon Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Covington Capital Management lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covington Capital Management now owns 450 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.33% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Down 1.4 %

AEP opened at $90.70 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $91.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.56. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $80.30 and a one year high of $105.60.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 9th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 16th. Cfra raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 24th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 884 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 7,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $667,047.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 884 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 7,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $667,047.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas K. Akins sold 51,034 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.44, for a total transaction of $4,564,480.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 143,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,838,843.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 63,897 shares of company stock worth $5,723,900 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power 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.