Yaupon Capital Management LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Yaupon Capital Management LP reduced its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 233,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 45,079 shares during the period. Yaupon Capital Management LP owned 0.09% of Ameren worth $20,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Ameren by 86.2% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE traded down $0.62 on Friday, hitting $98.30. 1,488,589 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,589,610. The company has a market cap of $26.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.87. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $104.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.25%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712 over the last quarter. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.22.

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.