Schnieders Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Schnieders Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 38.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,333 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,308 shares during the quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. South Dakota Investment Council boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 19,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth approximately $596,000. Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth approximately $219,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 227.8% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after buying an additional 11,184 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 1,462 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

American Electric Power stock traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $85.56. 3,562,335 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,773,350. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.38 and a 12-month high of $94.73. The company has a market cap of $45.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.51. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.25.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 82.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AEP. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $92.00 to $86.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Mizuho lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, March 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Cfra reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price target (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.08.

American Electric Power Profile

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.