Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Buys Shares of 14,500 Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,293,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 4.2% in the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.7% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $97.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $92.48 and a 200 day moving average of $88.80. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $69.39 and a 12 month high of $100.61. The firm has a market cap of $26.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 60.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lowered Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.70.

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.