LSV Asset Management Decreases Stock Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

LSV Asset Management lessened its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 66.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 42,700 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 7,133.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $694,670,000 after buying an additional 947,011 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised 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 purchasing an additional 532,800 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 1,770.6% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 355,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,596,000 after purchasing an additional 336,416 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Ameren by 180.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 521,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,037,000 after purchasing an additional 335,398 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Ameren by 276.1% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 399,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,899,000 after buying an additional 293,317 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $74.77 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $73.00 and its 200 day moving average is $73.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $90.00. The stock has a market cap of $19.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company’s revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were 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 owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other 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 transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AEE. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their target price on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameren presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.90.

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.