Beck Bode LLC Takes $762,000 Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Beck Bode LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,548 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $762,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $99.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,105,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,580,103. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $104.10. The stock's 50-day moving average is $98.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.71 dividend. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is 62.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AEE shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameren has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 14,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.