Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Parkside Financial Bank & Trust

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust reduced its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,866 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 207 shares during the quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Ameren were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ameren during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in Ameren during the third quarter worth about $37,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 124.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in Ameren by 64.9% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related 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 approximately $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 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 $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE AEE traded up $0.64 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.66. 208,111 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,739,762. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $91.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.53.

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

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 61.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AEE. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Barclays dropped their price target on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.40.

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.