Permanent Capital Management LP Invests $259,000 in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Permanent Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,903 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in Ameren by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Ameren stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $97.44. 1,716,532 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,431,670. The business's 50-day moving average is $95.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $69.39 and a 12 month high of $104.10.

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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 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 last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is 64.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value 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 represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $93.40.

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.