Xponance Inc. Sells 594 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Xponance Inc. lessened its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 594 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $205,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 124.4% in the 3rd quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 4,230 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,583,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.40.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE stock opened at $74.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $91.18.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.33%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Profile

Ameren Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission. It engages in the rate-regulated electric generation, transmission, and distribution activities; and rate-regulated natural gas distribution business.