Signaturefd LLC Cuts Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Signaturefd LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,108 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,246 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its position in Ameren by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 20,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 3,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 8,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 27,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the business’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 $513,989.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $74.76 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $72.29 and a 200 day moving average of $73.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $90.80.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. Ameren’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 61.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Ameren

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.