American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) was the target of a large decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,400,000 shares, a decline of 10.2% from the March 31st total of 9,350,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,770,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $85.26 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $83.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.51. American Electric Power has a 12 month low of $69.38 and a 12 month high of $93.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.03). American Electric Power had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Guggenheim cut shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEP. Plan Group Financial LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 47.2% in the 1st quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,544 shares during the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 75.3% in the 1st quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. now owns 3,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 1,412 shares during the period. Northwest Bancshares Inc. lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 65.5% during the 1st quarter. Northwest Bancshares Inc. now owns 4,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 1,930 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in American Electric Power by 27.2% in the 1st quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 393,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,844,000 after acquiring an additional 83,934 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.