National Bank of Canada FI Increases Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 57.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 174,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 63,993 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.07% of Ameren worth $15,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Ameren by 392.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 19,434 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 15,484 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,417,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the second quarter worth approximately $2,632,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 984,879 shares during the period. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC acquired a new position in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,682,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $89.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,054,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,565,936. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $95.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $89.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.94. The company has a market capitalization of $23.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on AEE shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Ameren from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho raised Ameren from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.00.

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.