American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Short Interest Update

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,810,000 shares, a decline of 18.0% from the January 15th total of 9,530,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,970,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AEP. Scotiabank cut shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut 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 raised their target price for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP stock opened at $101.83 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.95. American Electric Power has a fifty-two week low of $79.01 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $54.19 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.58.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 13.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that American Electric Power will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Electric Power

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About American Electric Power

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.