Czech National Bank Buys 250 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Ameren were worth $3,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 245.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 56,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,093,000 after buying an additional 40,202 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 898,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,007,000 after buying an additional 12,431 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,168,000. Putnam Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 5,112,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $369,849,000 after buying an additional 156,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 83.9% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 264,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,158,000 after buying an additional 120,849 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays raised Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ameren from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.70.

Ameren Stock Down 1.2 %

Ameren stock opened at $70.24 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $72.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $18.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $88.72.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 15.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total value of $302,120.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,318,410.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.