New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $22.46 Million Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 256,853 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 15,162 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.10% of Ameren worth $22,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,750 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $943,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Ameren by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 65,045 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,811,000 after purchasing an additional 2,424 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Ameren by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 38,633 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,146,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Ameren by 30.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 345,434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,548,000 after buying an additional 80,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 413.6% during the first quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 15,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,131,000 after buying an additional 12,318 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on AEE shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a report on Friday, July 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $87.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.80.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE traded down $1.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $85.88. 1,884,620 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,269,065. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $89.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.45. The business's 50-day moving average price is $85.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 16.28%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.63%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.