DC Investments Management LLC Invests $742,000 in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

DC Investments Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 8,328 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $742,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dean Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 23,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,068,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $901,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,192 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Beck Bode LLC acquired a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $762,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Ameren by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,865,910 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $166,327,000 after buying an additional 501,187 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of AEE traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.48. 1,295,275 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,579,743. The firm has a market cap of $26.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.58. 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 12-month low of $69.39 and a 12-month high of $104.10.

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

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712 in the last ninety days. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AEE shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three equities research 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.89.

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.