38,350 Shares in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Purchased by Hartree Partners LP

Hartree Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 38,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,419,000. Ameren comprises 1.3% of Hartree Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ameren by 117.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,911,000 after purchasing an additional 11,802 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at $248,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 59.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 984,879 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth about $437,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AEE. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameren currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.70.

Ameren Stock Performance

Ameren stock opened at $99.71 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $97.64 and its 200 day moving average is $92.02. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $104.10. The company has a market capitalization of $26.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. 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. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

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.