Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Buys New Position in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Robeco Institutional Asset Management bought a new stake of 68,144 Ameren shares in Q4, valued at about $6.8 million, as institutional investors now own roughly 79.09% of the company.
• Ameren reported a slight quarterly EPS beat ($0.78 vs. $0.77) and revenue of $1.78B (above estimates) despite an 8.2% year-over-year revenue decline, and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.71 to $0.75 (annualized $3.00, yield ~2.7%).
• Insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares (a 3.26% reduction in his holdings), while analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of $115.92 (seven Buys, six Holds, one Sell).

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 68,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,805,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 1.3% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 14,759 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,474,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 3.6% during the third quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Keb Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 0.9% during the third quarter. Keb Asset Management LLC now owns 12,568 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,312,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 3.9% during the third quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.60, for a total value of $673,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 193,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,002,673.60. The trade was a 3.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Down 0.9%

AEE stock opened at $110.85 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $110.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Ameren Corporation has a 1-year low of $93.27 and a 1-year high of $115.53. The stock has a market cap of $30.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.52.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.01. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 16.55%.The business had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. Ameren's payout ratio is presently 56.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AEE shares. Argus lifted their target price on Ameren from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 target price on Ameren in a research report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ameren from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ameren from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ameren from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $115.92.

Ameren Company Profile

Ameren Corporation NYSE: AEE is an integrated energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that provides electric and natural gas delivery and related services in portions of Missouri and Illinois. The company operates regulated utility businesses that serve a broad mix of residential, commercial and industrial customers, and it participates in wholesale energy markets and transmission operations that support reliable service across its service territories.

Ameren's core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, distribution of natural gas, and the provision of customer energy solutions such as demand-side management and energy efficiency programs.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.