Swiss National Bank Decreases Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 948,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 78,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.36% of Ameren worth $77,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 21.1% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 28,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,701,000 after buying an additional 5,025 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the first quarter worth $769,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 3.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 114,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,724,000 after buying an additional 4,148 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 3.1% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 272,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,526,000 after buying an additional 8,174 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 14.4% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. 77.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 3,155 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.63, for a total value of $251,232.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 161,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,849,813.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AEE. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Ameren from $85.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Ameren from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Ameren from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.89.

Ameren Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:AEE opened at $77.68 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $77.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.07. The company has a market capitalization of $20.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $69.71 and a 1-year high of $92.43.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 10.67%. The company’s revenue was down 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 13th will be given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 12th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.27%.

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 and transmission businesses.