Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 65,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,424 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Ameren were worth $4,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 52.8% in the first quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 1.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 315,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,325,000 after acquiring an additional 4,842 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 5.5% in the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the first quarter valued at $3,269,000. Finally, Maple Brown Abbott Ltd lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 8.9% in the first quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd now owns 1,714,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,806,000 after acquiring an additional 139,660 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AEE shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Ameren from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays upgraded Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Ameren from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.20.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total value of $302,120.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,318,410.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE AEE traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.45. 2,445,370 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,746,672. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $88.72. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a market cap of $18.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.08). Ameren had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. Ameren’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

Ameren 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.