Federated Hermes Inc. Purchases 1,067 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 68.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,636 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd lifted its holdings in Ameren by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd now owns 1,574,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $113,925,000 after purchasing an additional 223,790 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Ameren by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 63,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,622,000 after purchasing an additional 7,908 shares during the last quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC increased its position in Ameren by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 17,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 2,398 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at about $257,000. Finally, Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors increased its position in Ameren by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 9,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 1,870 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Down 1.5 %

Ameren stock opened at $74.09 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.36. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $90.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.08). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.30% and a net margin of 15.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AEE. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.