Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 160,978 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,673,347 shares of the company’s stock after selling 160,978 shares during the quarter. American Electric Power accounts for about 0.9% of Federated Hermes Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.89% of American Electric Power worth $379,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HF Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in American Electric Power by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 84,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,859,000 after buying an additional 3,113 shares during the last quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd grew its stake in American Electric Power by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd now owns 1,688,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,155,000 after buying an additional 78,510 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp grew its stake in American Electric Power by 112.5% during the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 15,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,243,000 after buying an additional 8,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 59,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,836,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $75.50 to $73.00 in a report on Friday, March 8th. Cfra restated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.08.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of AEP stock traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $81.50. 956,644 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,737,013. The company has a market capitalization of $42.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.51. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.38 and a 52 week high of $94.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $82.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. 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.