Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC Acquires 1,358 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,353 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares during the quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in American Electric Power by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,767,425,000 after purchasing an additional 763,813 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,389,032,000 after buying an additional 543,054 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,808,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,178,174,000 after buying an additional 283,311 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,510,000 after buying an additional 716,229 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in American Electric Power by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,851,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,432,000 after acquiring an additional 272,997 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $107.54 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.93 and a 1 year high of $110.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $57.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $105.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.00.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AEP. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America upped their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays raised their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $114.00 target price on American Electric Power and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.69.

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.