Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Purchased by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 461,323 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 33,489 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.17% of Ameren worth $46,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AEE. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised its holdings in Ameren by 78.7% in 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of AEE stock traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $95.99. 2,293,784 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,563,238. The business's fifty day moving average is $97.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $69.39 and a 12-month high of $104.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Ameren's payout ratio is 62.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $102.00 price target on shares of Ameren and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.00.

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.