Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $14.91 Million Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 25,991 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.06% of Ameren worth $14,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Ameren by 493.0% during the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 18,064 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 703.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 129,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,566,000 after acquiring an additional 113,250 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 392.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 19,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 15,484 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 137.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 100,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,407,000 after purchasing an additional 57,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the second quarter worth approximately $2,632,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $87.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $89.54.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The company 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Mizuho upgraded Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.80.

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.