Fortress Financial Solutions LLC Invests $319,000 in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Fortress Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 3,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4,215.2% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 19,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,014,000 after acquiring an additional 19,179 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth about $203,000. Magnus Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the third quarter worth about $225,000. First United Bank & Trust lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 17.1% in the third quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Investment Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP opened at $101.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $95.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.83. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.31 and a 1 year high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upgraded American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

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.