Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Position Raised by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 104,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,858 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Ameren were worth $9,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Ameren in the third quarter valued at $1,417,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 59.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after buying an additional 984,879 shares during the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC bought a new stake in Ameren in the third quarter valued at $1,682,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Ameren by 51.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,064,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,134,000 after buying an additional 362,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 265.0% during the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 173,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,198,000 after purchasing an additional 126,157 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $103.71 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $94.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.94. The firm has a market cap of $27.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $69.39 and a 52-week high of $103.87. 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 released its 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 period last year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.71 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.25%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AEE shares. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lowered Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned 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, Ameren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.70.

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.