Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. Buys Shares of 2,060 American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Signature Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter valued at $200,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 19.8% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 174,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,024,000 after buying an additional 28,717 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 64.5% during the 1st quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,269,000 after buying an additional 4,554 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth about $758,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 225,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,605,000 after acquiring an additional 21,109 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.49, for a total value of $817,806.42. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,256 shares of company stock valued at $2,688,472 over the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” 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 for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased 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 report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.31.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $101.91 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.15. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.93 and a twelve month high of $110.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.68%.

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.