Fox Run Management L.L.C. Has $712,000 Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 191.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,253 shares during the quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised their price target on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.70.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE opened at $98.89 on Monday. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $69.39 and a 12-month high of $104.10. The stock has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $96.93 and a 200-day moving average of $91.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.