Soroban Capital Partners LP Sells 264,000 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Soroban Capital Partners LP decreased its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,247,422 shares of the company’s stock after selling 264,000 shares during the quarter. American Electric Power comprises 1.5% of Soroban Capital Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Soroban Capital Partners LP’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $115,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in American Electric Power by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,075,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,498,000 after purchasing an additional 738,756 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 57.9% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 8,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $803,000 after acquiring an additional 3,193 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 10,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 136.6% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 7,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AEP. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays raised their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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 lifted 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. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.77.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $103.04 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.35. The stock has a market cap of $55.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.93 and a 12 month high of $110.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. The business had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 71.68%.

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.