Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires New Shares in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New Hampshire acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ AEP opened at $101.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $54.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.93 and a 52 week high of $110.48. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $104.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 71.68%.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 now owns 9,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $991,683.44. The trade was a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.49, for a total value of $817,806.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,860,514.68. This represents a 30.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Guggenheim raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. 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 objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.