Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Acquired by Decade Renewable Partners LP

Decade Renewable Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 26.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 137,662 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,462 shares during the period. Ameren accounts for about 6.0% of Decade Renewable Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Decade Renewable Partners LP owned approximately 0.05% of Ameren worth $12,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 16.3% in the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameren Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:AEE opened at $98.30 on Monday. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $104.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $26.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.87.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (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 firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.22.

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.