HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Purchases 126,157 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 265.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 173,771 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 126,157 shares during the period. Ameren comprises 1.8% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned 0.07% of Ameren worth $15,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AEE. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 984,879 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 106.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $177,644,000 after buying an additional 1,286,162 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in Ameren by 26.1% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,318,537 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $202,779,000 after buying an additional 479,668 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Ameren by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,954,962 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $139,017,000 after acquiring an additional 123,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maple Brown Abbott Ltd raised its position in shares of Ameren by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd now owns 1,753,270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $124,675,000 after acquiring an additional 38,750 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ameren Stock Performance

Ameren stock traded down $1.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $91.80. The stock had a trading volume of 920,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,577,346. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $95.69. The company has a market capitalization of $24.50 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's fifty day moving average is $89.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Ameren from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Mizuho raised Ameren from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameren has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.78.

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.