Sapient Capital LLC Buys Shares of 2,719 American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AEP. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 222.0% in the 3rd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $80.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.81. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.38 and a 52 week high of $94.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 82.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AEP. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Mizuho cut American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com cut American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.15.

American Electric Power Company 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.