Versor Investments LP Makes New $1.42 Million Investment in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,417,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 44,641 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,302,000 after buying an additional 6,445 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,676 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,233,000 after buying an additional 3,064 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,275 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 42,258 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,125,000 after buying an additional 5,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in shares of Ameren by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 525,278 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,850,000 after buying an additional 32,627 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,640,758.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE AEE traded up $2.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $92.30. 2,202,503 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,593,976. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $86.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.08. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $92.69. The company has a market cap of $24.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Ameren's payout ratio is 63.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on AEE shares. Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.80.

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.