RWC Asset Management LLP Makes New Investment in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

RWC Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 104,746 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,337,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Ameren by 7.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 129,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,346,000 after acquiring an additional 8,540 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at $257,000. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Ameren by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ameren by 5.5% during the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,590,000 after buying an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the third quarter valued at $206,000. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays lowered Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.70.

Ameren Stock Up 1.3 %

AEE stock opened at $98.52 on Monday. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $69.39 and a 1-year high of $100.61. The stock has a market cap of $26.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.11. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.63%.

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.