Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Versor Investments LP

Versor Investments LP decreased its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 29.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,700 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Ameren by 50.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Ameren by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 36,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,224,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its position in Ameren by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 112,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,838,000 after purchasing an additional 17,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC grew its position in Ameren by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 20,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,869,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE opened at $99.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $93.68 and a 200-day moving average of $89.51. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $100.61. The company has a market cap of $26.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 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 company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 yield of 2.85%. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 60.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the business’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 value of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. The trade was 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 hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.