Oak Thistle LLC Buys Shares of 16,150 Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,168,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ameren during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 218.2% in the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the first quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:AEE traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $73.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 438,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,859,604. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.87 and a 200-day moving average of $73.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $91.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI cut Ameren from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America downgraded Ameren from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 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 $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ameren news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $115,241.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% 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.