Stevens Capital Management LP Takes $433,000 Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 5,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $433,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 124.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Ameren Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of AEE stock traded down $1.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $73.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,201,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,735,562. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $72.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.55. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $90.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. Ameren’s quarterly revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 61.33%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Ameren news, 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 value of $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.