Cwm LLC Buys 1,319 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Cwm LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 11.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at $254,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth about $384,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 46.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at about $97,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Trading Up 0.9 %

AEE opened at $88.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $88.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $84.31 and its 200 day moving average is $77.28.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 16.28%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 60.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.80.

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.