Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Decreases Stock Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 396,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 35,230 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $34,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its position in Ameren by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 20,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 115.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE stock traded up $0.64 on Friday, reaching $86.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,011,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,111. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.67. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $88.11. The stock has a market cap of $23.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.94.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AEE. Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho upgraded Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.70.

Ameren 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.