Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Purchased by Beck Bode LLC

Beck Bode LLC boosted its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 1,014.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 116,852 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 106,370 shares during the period. Ameren makes up about 1.9% of Beck Bode LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Beck Bode LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $8,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in Ameren in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 64.9% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 620 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 124.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 624 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ameren from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America upped their price target 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.40.

Ameren Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE AEE traded down $0.48 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $73.87. 1,447,036 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,727,959. The company has a market capitalization of $19.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.90, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.44. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $90.72. 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 (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.67 dividend. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.33%.

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.

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