CENTRAL TRUST Co Has $2.41 Million Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 340 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter valued at $44,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Ameren by 134.5% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $74,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays downgraded Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE opened at $94.15 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $25.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.49. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $96.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $91.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.01.

Ameren 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.