Blue Trust Inc. Sells 968 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 28.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 968 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 134.5% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth $83,000. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $98.03 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.49. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.31 and a fifty-two week high of $100.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.70.

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.