Stack Financial Management Inc Makes New Investment in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Stack Financial Management Inc acquired a new stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 158,112 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,438,000. Stack Financial Management Inc owned about 0.06% of Ameren as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 7,133.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,286 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $694,670,000 after buying an additional 947,011 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 105.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 1,289,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $96,512,000 after purchasing an additional 660,654 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,286,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $171,081,000 after purchasing an additional 532,800 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 1,770.6% in the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 355,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,596,000 after purchasing an additional 336,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 180.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 521,680 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,037,000 after purchasing an additional 335,398 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AEE shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ameren from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.40.

Ameren Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE AEE traded down $1.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $73.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,201,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,735,562. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $72.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $90.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. Ameren's revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This is a positive change from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren's payout ratio is 61.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.