Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,715 shares of the company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AEP. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 5,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. 111 Capital bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth about $347,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 7.0% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 59,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,461,000 after purchasing an additional 3,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.0% in the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In related news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.65, for a total value of $543,250.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,443,567.70. This represents a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on American Electric Power from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their target price on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on American Electric Power from $120.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Barclays increased their target price on American Electric Power from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.63.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of AEP opened at $109.14 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $89.91 and a 12-month high of $115.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $110.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.570-6.770 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 54.39%.

American Electric Power 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.