Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Stake Cut by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 84.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 31,360 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 108.1% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 227.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Up 1.7 %

Ameren stock opened at $91.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $87.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.61. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $92.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AEE. Mizuho upgraded Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.80.

Ameren 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.