Federated Hermes Inc. Has $191,000 Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 68.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,636 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Ameren by 245.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 56,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,093,000 after buying an additional 40,202 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,168,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Ameren by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 142,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,272,000 after buying an additional 36,611 shares during the period. Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $473,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Ameren by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,637,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $122,549,000 after buying an additional 17,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE AEE opened at $74.09 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $90.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $72.75 and its 200-day moving average is $73.36.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.30% and a net margin of 15.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. 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 payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays cut their target price on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.40.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.