Copley Financial Group Inc. Makes New $432,000 Investment in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $432,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in American Electric Power by 105.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,379,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,243,000 after acquiring an additional 2,763,328 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 176.3% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,004,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,526,000 after purchasing an additional 2,555,415 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 118.2% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,585,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400,547 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,084,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $684,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd grew its position in American Electric Power by 92.3% in the 3rd quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 2,176,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044,629 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,351 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total value of $177,602.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,025,798.60. The trade was a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total value of $542,320.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,582,097.04. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of AEP opened at $133.62 on Wednesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $97.46 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00. The firm has a market cap of $72.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $124.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.45.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The company had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.450 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 56.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AEP. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $148.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $132.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.90.

About American Electric Power

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.