18,875 Shares in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Acquired by MBB Public Markets I LLC

MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 18,875 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,342,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Ameren by 115.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the second quarter worth $26,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 117.6% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE opened at $86.49 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.93. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $87.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Ameren’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEE has been the subject of several research reports. Argus upgraded Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.33.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.