Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Trims Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado cut its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,667 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,410 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $6,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 892,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,180,000 after buying an additional 82,300 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 605.8% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 215,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,142,000 after purchasing an additional 184,936 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 39.5% in the 2nd quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 68,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,779,000 after purchasing an additional 19,450 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 8,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 952,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,236,000 after purchasing an additional 79,824 shares in the last quarter. 74.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AEP shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $96.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $96.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.37.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP opened at $77.41 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The company has a market cap of $40.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.38 and its 200 day moving average is $81.10. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.38 and a 12-month high of $100.32.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.08). American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.73% and a net margin of 11.72%. The business had revenue of $5.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.73%.

About American Electric Power

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.