Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 245.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,202 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $4,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth $473,000. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,637,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $122,549,000 after purchasing an additional 17,468 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 2,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth $2,673,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,480,763 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $110,805,000 after purchasing an additional 18,902 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Up 1.1 %

AEE opened at $73.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.14. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $91.18. The company has a market capitalization of $19.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Ameren from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho cut their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 18th. KeyCorp lowered Ameren from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Ameren from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.11.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.