Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 146 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,355 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 146 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $98,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 218.2% in the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE stock opened at $72.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.49. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $91.18.

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

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 61.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the company’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 transaction of $115,241.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America raised their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.40.

Ameren Company 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.