Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Bought by Clarius Group LLC

Clarius Group LLC increased its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 566 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $271,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 21.1% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 28,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,701,000 after purchasing an additional 5,025 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at about $769,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Ameren by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 114,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,724,000 after buying an additional 4,148 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 3.1% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 272,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,526,000 after acquiring an additional 8,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 14.4% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AEE. Bank of America increased their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Ameren from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares in the company, 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 hyperlink. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $71.76 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.56. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $91.18. The company has a market cap of $19.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.