Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Cuts Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 69.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,866 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,460 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AEP. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at $320,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 149.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 52.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in American Electric Power by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 28,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,887,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Siebert Williams Shank started coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $137.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research raised American Electric Power from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Electric Power news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total value of $575,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,898 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,082.86. The trade was a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $129.94 on Tuesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $97.46 and a twelve month high of $130.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $70.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.14.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.72%.

American Electric Power Company 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.