Intech Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AEE. Bank of America boosted their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.00.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $85.62 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $80.97 and a 200-day moving average of $75.47. The firm has a market cap of $22.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $85.85.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. Analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.