Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires 24,260 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 33.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 96,632 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,260 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $7,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 222.0% during the 3rd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 2.8 %

AEP opened at $84.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $44.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50 day moving average of $80.93 and a 200-day moving average of $79.31. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.38 and a 52 week high of $96.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.12 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 82.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho cut shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Cfra restated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Guggenheim cut American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $83.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.08.

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.