QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 48,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,909 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $4,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ameren by 50.1% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 17,564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 5,865 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,832 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,385,000 after buying an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 112,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,838,000 after buying an additional 17,277 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.3% in the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 20,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,869,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 63.2% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 10,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $877,000 after acquiring an additional 3,883 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on AEE shares. Barclays cut Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.70.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE opened at $101.74 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $93.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.66. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $101.75. 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 company has a market capitalization of $27.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 60.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by 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.