Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 903 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $465,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AEE. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 4.2% in the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in Ameren by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $797,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $98.03 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $92.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.74. The company has a market capitalization of $26.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.49. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $69.31 and a 1 year high of $100.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect 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 issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 60.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.