Covalis Capital LLP Purchases Shares of 149,482 Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Covalis Capital LLP bought a new position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 149,482 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,325,000. Ameren accounts for approximately 1.9% of Covalis Capital LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Covalis Capital LLP owned approximately 0.06% of Ameren as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Ameren by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,036,224 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $92,373,000 after buying an additional 31,288 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $218,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its position in Ameren by 361.9% during the fourth quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 802,696 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $71,552,000 after purchasing an additional 628,925 shares in the last quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 42,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth about $969,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.6 %

AEE stock traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $99.23. The stock had a trading volume of 297,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,827,534. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $26.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $98.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.60. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.71 dividend. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712 over the last three months. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About Ameren

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.