Gray Wealth Management Inc. Acquires 274 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Gray Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,628 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the quarter. Gray Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 222.0% in the 3rd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in American Electric Power during the second quarter worth $26,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on American Electric Power from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Cfra restated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price target (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.08.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.6 %

AEP stock traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $82.56. 3,544,210 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,772,691. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $82.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.85. The stock has a market cap of $43.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.51. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.38 and a fifty-two week high of $94.73.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.82%.

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.