Howard Capital Management Inc. Acquires 5,783 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 14.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,922 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,783 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $5,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AEP. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 57.1% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 166.0% during the 2nd quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 277.1% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $119.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $63.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $117.25 and a 200 day moving average of $114.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $97.32 and a 1-year high of $124.80.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.81 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.65 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 17.23%.The company’s revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Williams Trading set a $137.00 price target on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Electric Power from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total value of $575,350.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,082.86. The trade was a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Profile

American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.