Cwm LLC Cuts Stock Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Cwm LLC trimmed its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,864 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Concord Wealth Partners grew its position in Ameren by 64.9% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays dropped their price target on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm’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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 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 transaction of $513,989.00. Following the sale, 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. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $73.66 on Monday. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $90.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $72.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.49. The company has a market capitalization of $19.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.67 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.33%.

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.