Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $8.67 Million in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 97,270 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,671,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 78.7% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE traded up $0.72 on Thursday, reaching $96.04. 1,042,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,560,578. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $104.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $97.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.33.

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 return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp raised Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.90.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.