Advisory Services Network LLC Buys New Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Ameren by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in Ameren by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.22.

Ameren Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $98.31 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.38. The firm has a market cap of $26.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.