Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Acquires 25,937 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 178,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,937 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.07% of Ameren worth $15,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 10,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $317,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Ameren by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 82,061 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,315,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at about $19,367,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE:AEE traded up $1.79 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $96.80. 1,659,488 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,582,824. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $98.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.67. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $104.10. The company has a market cap of $26.16 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.97%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AEE. KeyCorp raised Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.80.

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.