Machina Capital S.A.S. Trims Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Machina Capital S.A.S. trimmed its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 46.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,701 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,763 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 22,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after buying an additional 2,415 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after buying an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 121,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,176,000 after buying an additional 5,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 68,800.0% during the 3rd quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 2,064 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.2 %

AEP traded up $0.21 on Monday, hitting $88.81. The company had a trading volume of 2,354,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,755,158. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $84.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.94. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.38 and a 12-month high of $92.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 14.60%. The company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their target price on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group downgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Mizuho downgraded 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. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.14.

American Electric Power Company 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.