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

Fox Run Management L.L.C. increased its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 191.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Ameren by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $98.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 333,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,433,731. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $104.10. The stock's 50-day moving average is $97.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEE has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owns 57,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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 on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.