Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 11.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,945 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $322,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter valued at about $262,000. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter valued at about $205,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 19,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,150,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 26.1% during 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim raised their target price on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.31.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total transaction of $819,820.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,045,276.76. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,314 shares of company stock worth $3,508,293. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.0%

AEP stock opened at $105.49 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $89.91 and a 12-month high of $110.48. The stock has a market cap of $56.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50-day moving average is $102.85 and its 200 day moving average is $102.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 13.73%. The company had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. American Electric Power’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.