Willis Investment Counsel Acquires 23,300 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Willis Investment Counsel raised its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 15.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 178,900 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,300 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $19,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth about $220,983,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,416,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $591,791,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165,888 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 13,499.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,150,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,954,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,404 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. bought a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth about $121,605,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,120,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,317 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.49, for a total transaction of $817,806.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,860,514.68. This trade represents a 30.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total value of $1,041,277.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,256 shares of company stock valued at $2,688,472 over the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP opened at $103.02 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $55.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $104.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.09.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 71.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on AEP shares. UBS Group raised their target price on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. 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 report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.75.

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.