Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Has $1.38 Million Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,412 shares during the quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ameren by 7,133.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $694,670,000 after purchasing an additional 947,011 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ameren by 105.0% in the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 1,289,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $96,512,000 after purchasing an additional 660,654 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of Ameren by 30.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,286,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $171,081,000 after purchasing an additional 532,800 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ameren by 1,770.6% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 355,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,596,000 after purchasing an additional 336,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Ameren by 180.0% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 521,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,037,000 after purchasing an additional 335,398 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $74.76 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $90.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $72.29 and a 200-day moving average of $73.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.33%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AEE shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.40.

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.