Allstate Corp Makes New Investment in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,066 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $719,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Ameren by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Down 5.7 %

Shares of Ameren stock traded down $5.80 during trading on Friday, hitting $95.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,099,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,557,548. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $104.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.57. The company has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a PE ratio of 21.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

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Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a positive change from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. 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.