Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,462 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Ameren were worth $4,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AEE. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Ameren by 3.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,824,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,379,000 after purchasing an additional 101,023 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,430,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $181,867,000 after buying an additional 29,921 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,286,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $171,081,000 after acquiring an additional 532,800 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 17,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maple Brown Abbott Ltd increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd now owns 1,574,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $113,925,000 after purchasing an additional 223,790 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 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 $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ameren from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com lowered Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.90.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $73.91 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.34. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $90.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.99, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.08). Ameren had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.61%.

Ameren 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.