Nomura Holdings Inc. Acquires New Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 8,794 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $784,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 10,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $317,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings 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 during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $19,367,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were 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 $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $98.83 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $98.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.01. The firm has a market cap of $26.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a PEG 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $69.39 and a 52-week high of $104.10.

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

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Ameren's payout ratio is currently 62.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AEE shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. KeyCorp raised Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.80.

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.

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