Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Grows Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,135 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AEP. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,310,000 after buying an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after buying an additional 4,370 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 436.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 5,771 shares in the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,667,000 after buying an additional 19,081 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $103.39 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $55.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $98.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.16 and a 12 month high of $109.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America upgraded American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.46.

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.