Hsbc Holdings PLC Grows Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 21.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 496,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 89,267 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.19% of Ameren worth $35,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Ameren by 115.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 117.6% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays upgraded Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameren Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of AEE opened at $85.62 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $85.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.43. The company has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Ameren’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

Ameren 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.