Inceptionr LLC Buys New Shares in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Inceptionr LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Ameren by 6,040.0% during the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 728.9% during the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Ameren by 30.9% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ameren in the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.60, for a total transaction of $673,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 193,076 shares in the company, valued at $20,002,673.60. This trade represents a 3.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Ameren from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $116.00 price target on shares of Ameren in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.30.

Ameren Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE AEE opened at $111.55 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Ameren Corporation has a 52 week low of $91.77 and a 52 week high of $113.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $105.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.20. The company has a market cap of $30.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.56.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.01. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 16.55%.The company had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. Ameren’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Ameren’s payout ratio is 56.07%.

Ameren Profile

Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) is an integrated energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that provides electric and natural gas delivery and related services in portions of Missouri and Illinois. The company operates regulated utility businesses that serve a broad mix of residential, commercial and industrial customers, and it participates in wholesale energy markets and transmission operations that support reliable service across its service territories.

Ameren’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, distribution of natural gas, and the provision of customer energy solutions such as demand-side management and energy efficiency programs.