Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $42.26 Million Stock Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 474,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 47,842 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.18% of Ameren worth $42,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 37.7% in the fourth quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its stake in Ameren by 218.4% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 106,286 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,474,000 after purchasing an additional 72,900 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in Ameren by 1,680.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 3,668 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,462 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Ameren by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 20,428 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,821,000 after buying an additional 4,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter worth approximately $531,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE traded down $0.72 during trading on Thursday, hitting $98.53. 387,416 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,793,175. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $98.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.03. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $69.39 and a 1 year high of $104.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $26.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren's payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the business'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ameren from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, 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. Four investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.33.

Ameren Company 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.