Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Position Increased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 82,061 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Ameren were worth $7,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Ameren by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth about $83,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE traded up $1.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $98.52. The company had a trading volume of 4,117,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,660,705. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.86. The firm has a market cap of $26.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.49. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $69.39 and a 1-year high of $100.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren's payout ratio is 64.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AEE. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered Ameren from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.