Rhumbline Advisers Sells 2,280 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 427,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,280 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Ameren were worth $38,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth approximately $238,000. CFC Planning Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth approximately $248,000. Arcus Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth $908,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 82,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,315,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its position in Ameren by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays downgraded shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.70.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $98.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.23 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $69.31 and a 52-week high of $100.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.63.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 15.52%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

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.