Ninepoint Partners LP Purchases 1,528 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Ninepoint Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,528 shares during the period. Ninepoint Partners LP’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in Ameren by 134.5% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in Ameren by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:AEE opened at $99.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.77 and a 200 day moving average of $90.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $104.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.40.

Ameren Company 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.