Amalgamated Bank Sells 3,909 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Amalgamated Bank reduced its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,909 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Ameren were worth $4,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its holdings in Ameren by 0.7% during the third quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 20,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 5.3% during the third quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 3,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 8,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. CNB Bank grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 46.7% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in Ameren by 0.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.6 %

Ameren stock opened at $74.36 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $90.72.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.08). Ameren had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $115,241.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren 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 directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AEE. StockNews.com lowered Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ameren from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.90.

About Ameren

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.