Resolution Capital Ltd Reduces Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Resolution Capital Ltd trimmed its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in Ameren by 78.7% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712 in the last 90 days. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ameren Price Performance

Ameren stock opened at $95.14 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $98.24 and a 200-day moving average of $94.67. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $69.39 and a 52-week high of $104.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.97%.

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.