Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Acquired by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,764,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,705 shares during the period. Ameren makes up about 1.5% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $127,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 20,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,533,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 3,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY increased its holdings in Ameren by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 8,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank increased its holdings in Ameren by 46.7% in the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in Ameren by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 27,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.40.

Ameren Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.52. The stock had a trading volume of 242,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,713,047. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $90.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $19.86 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s 50 day moving average is $72.47 and its 200-day moving average is $73.47.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. Ameren’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 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 $115,241.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the company’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 $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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.