Busey Bank Sells 2,478 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Busey Bank lowered its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 15.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,478 shares during the period. Busey Bank’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 15.7% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in Ameren during the 1st quarter worth approximately $67,000. Fox Hill Wealth Management increased its position in Ameren by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 17,160 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 117.6% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 163.6% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Down 0.2 %

Ameren stock opened at $88.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $85.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $89.54.

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

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 60.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. Mizuho raised Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.