Polymer Capital Management US LLC Invests $2.67 Million in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 30,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,674,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 10,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 51.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,064,877 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $93,134,000 after acquiring an additional 362,772 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Ameren by 2.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,139,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,149,221,000 after acquiring an additional 334,752 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Ameren by 57.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 174,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,291,000 after purchasing an additional 63,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $317,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of Ameren 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 in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AEE shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameren has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.22.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEE traded up $0.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $97.44. 1,321,307 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,574,852. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $26.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $69.39 and a 1-year high of $104.10. The business's 50 day moving average is $98.40 and its 200-day moving average is $93.02.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren's payout ratio is 64.25%.

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.