Lindbrook Capital LLC Acquires 346 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 124.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $45,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 0.7% during the third quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 20,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Aviva PLC boosted its stake 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 during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew 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 buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank increased its position in Ameren by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 0.9% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 27,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,030,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Trading Up 0.1 %

AEE opened at $74.76 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $90.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $72.29 and its 200 day moving average is $73.55.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. 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 research report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.40.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other Ameren 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 value of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by 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.