Bank of Montreal Can Buys 176,581 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,131,425 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 176,581 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $196,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the third quarter worth $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AEP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank cut shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.77.

American Electric Power Stock Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $101.57 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.16 and a 12-month high of $110.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (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 previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

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.