Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Stock Position Raised by Maple Brown Abbott Ltd

Maple Brown Abbott Ltd boosted its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,574,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 223,790 shares during the quarter. Ameren makes up 11.7% of Maple Brown Abbott Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd owned about 0.60% of Ameren worth $113,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AEE. Colony Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Colony Group LLC now owns 3,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Ameren by 0.7% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 18,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Ameren by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 3,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 20,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Up 2.5 %

AEE traded up $1.73 on Wednesday, hitting $72.07. The company had a trading volume of 687,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,779,129. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $91.18.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. Ameren’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AEE. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.40.

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.