B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Has $2.70 Million Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. cut its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,217 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,812 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 6,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 27,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,572,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 4,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total value of $1,041,277.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $991,683.44. The trade was a 51.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.69.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP opened at $102.88 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $105.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.93 and a 52 week high of $110.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.68%.

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.