Keb Asset Management LLC Sells 247 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Keb Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,967 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 247 shares during the period. Ameren accounts for 0.3% of Keb Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Keb Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Ameren by 115.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 117.6% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Ameren by 108.1% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AEE shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. StockNews.com raised Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays raised Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.10.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $106,935.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ameren Trading Down 0.3 %

AEE stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $82.05. 765,117 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,266,452. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $75.92 and a 200-day moving average of $73.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $84.40.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.61%.

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.