Edgestream Partners L.P. Purchases 2,269 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,269 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $3,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Ameren by 117.6% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the first quarter worth $30,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 163.6% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total transaction of $302,120.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,318,410.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $106,935.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total value of $302,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,935 shares in the company, valued at $3,318,410.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AEE. Bank of America raised their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group started coverage on Ameren in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Ameren from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com raised Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.91.

Ameren Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE AEE traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $75.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,281,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,707,376. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $20.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $88.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.94.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 15.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

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.