Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 290 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,695 shares of the company’s stock after selling 290 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $219,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AEP. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 3,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $79.51 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.85. 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 current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $41.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.51.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. UBS Group lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Cfra restated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $75.50 to $73.00 in a report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.15.

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.