Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Acquired by Executive Wealth Group LLC

Executive Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 200.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,026 shares during the period. Executive Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Ameren by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 124.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank boosted its position in Ameren by 96.7% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AEE shares. 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 objective for the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.70.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total transaction of $302,120.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,935 shares in the company, valued at $3,318,410.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total transaction of $302,120.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,318,410.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $106,935.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of Ameren stock traded down $0.81 on Friday, reaching $70.25. 3,325,424 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,372,159. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $88.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $72.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.08). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 15.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.61%.

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.