Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Position Lifted by HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 361.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 802,696 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 628,925 shares during the quarter. Ameren makes up about 5.3% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned 0.30% of Ameren worth $71,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ameren by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,749,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $600,157,000 after purchasing an additional 77,282 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 96.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,170,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $460,917,000 after acquiring an additional 2,539,129 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in Ameren by 1,732.4% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,068,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $273,527,000 after acquiring an additional 2,901,047 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Ameren by 116.0% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,357,876 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $210,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Ameren by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,939,725 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $172,907,000 after purchasing an additional 38,939 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712 in the last quarter. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ameren Trading Up 0.3 %

AEE opened at $98.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.31. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren's payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

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.

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