Headlands Technologies LLC Cuts Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Headlands Technologies LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 60.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,241 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $58,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter worth $40,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Ameren by 124.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in Ameren by 64.9% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank boosted its holdings in Ameren by 46.7% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 93.7% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Trading Up 0.8 %

Ameren stock opened at $74.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $19.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.43. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $90.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 61.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently 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.