Lindenwold Advisors INC Makes New Investment in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Lindenwold Advisors INC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 19,235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,682,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AEE. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 18,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,363,000 after buying an additional 1,467 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in Ameren by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 22.9% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,297 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361 shares during the period. Natixis acquired a new position in Ameren in the first quarter valued at $91,000. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 183.4% in the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 7,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 4,946 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.80.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $92.35 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $92.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $87.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.80.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

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.