Econ Financial Services Corp Takes Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Econ Financial Services Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AEP. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 355,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,848,000 after acquiring an additional 73,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,389,032,000 after acquiring an additional 543,054 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.0%

AEP stock opened at $103.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.17 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.93 and a 1-year high of $110.48. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.33.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 13.73%. The firm’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 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors 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 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 71.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Electric Power news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total value of $829,387.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,707,116.12. This represents a 23.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the company’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 directly owns 9,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AEP shares. Bank of America boosted 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.31.

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.