Headlands Technologies LLC Trims Stock Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Headlands Technologies LLC trimmed its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 60.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,241 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $58,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 124.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in Ameren by 64.9% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. CNB Bank lifted its stake in Ameren by 46.7% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 93.7% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $74.49 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $72.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.43. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $90.72.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren 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 directly owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.