Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Increases Stock Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 36.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,897 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Ameren were worth $1,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Ameren Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $87.74 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $88.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $23.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.22 and a 200 day moving average of $76.46.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 16.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AEE. Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.64.

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.