Zimmer Partners LP Cuts Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Zimmer Partners LP decreased its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 27.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,960,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,129,023 shares during the period. Ameren makes up about 4.7% of Zimmer Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Zimmer Partners LP owned 1.11% of Ameren worth $258,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Ameren in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the third quarter worth about $44,000. American National Bank bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,507.65. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:AEE opened at $91.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.55.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 63.06%.

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.