Cramer Talks to American Electric Power’s CEO

Home gamers need to circle the wagons around safe stocks, Cramer said Monday, and that includes American Electric Power, a predominantly coal fired utility.

American Electric Power has been in the crosshairs of the Environmental Protection Agency because it uses what the EPA calls dirty coal. Just last week, AEP had to scrap plans for a new, cleaner coal plant because the company and the EPA couldn’t come to terms on the deal.

But AEP CEO Mike Morris told Cramer that he wants to keep working with the EPA to make the plant happen.

“We’re going to keep working at it,” Morris said, “because they’re trying to do the right thing, we’re trying to do the right thing."

The issue, he said, was all about the timeline. He said the EPA wanted it completed in 12-14 months, but he said it would take 48 months.

During that time, he said, the company has an opportunity to make capital investments which are good for the shareholders, communities and customers and will keep the cost of energy constructively cheap.

Morris also told Cramer that the company has become a great investment for the retail shareholder. AEP, he said, has taken its retail ownership from 24 percent to 36 percent in the last twelve months.

“We think this is a good place for place for people who are conservative to park their money,” he said. “[It’s] low risk, high yield, and we are trading at a discount because of the coal, and that’s something not to run from, that’s something to embrace.”

Cramer agreed, citing the stock’s 4.9 percent yield and the fact that the stock is cheap because it is trading at a discount to other utilities.

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