Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP Has $494,000 Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP reduced its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 40.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,810 shares during the quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP’s holdings in Ameren were worth $494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 10,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth $317,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Ameren by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 82,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,315,000 after acquiring an additional 5,808 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth $19,367,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 49.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE opened at $96.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $69.39 and a 1 year high of $104.10. The stock has a market cap of $26.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $98.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.73.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. Ameren’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. KeyCorp upgraded Ameren from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.80.

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.