American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,180,000 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the November 15th total of 7,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,760,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.
Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $92.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. American Electric Power has a 1-year low of $75.22 and a 1-year high of $105.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $97.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.11.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.93 dividend. This is a positive change from American Electric Power's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.55%.
A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company's stock worth $2,760,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,954 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,524,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,280,655,000 after buying an additional 352,588 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 18.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company's stock worth $704,549,000 after buying an additional 1,087,163 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 8.1% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,543,771 shares of the company's stock worth $466,191,000 after buying an additional 341,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 109.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company's stock worth $385,079,000 after buying an additional 1,962,125 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.
Several analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $102.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $97.13.
Read Our Latest Report on 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.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider American Electric Power, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and American Electric Power wasn't on the list.
While American Electric Power currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.