Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Invests $3.17 Million in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 38,762 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,166,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 5,025 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the first quarter valued at $769,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position 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 valued at $10,724,000 after purchasing an additional 4,148 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position 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 valued at $25,526,000 after purchasing an additional 8,174 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. 77.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AEE shares. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Ameren from $91.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Ameren from $101.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Ameren from $84.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ameren from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 3,155 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.63, for a total transaction of $251,232.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 161,369 shares in the company, valued at $12,849,813.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 3,155 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.63, for a total transaction of $251,232.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 161,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,849,813.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 3,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $250,696.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 198,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,373,851.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ameren Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:AEE opened at $77.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.52. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $69.71 and a one year high of $92.43. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.89. The stock has a market cap of $20.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 12th. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 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.