National Bank of Canada FI Raises Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 57.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,993 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Ameren were worth $15,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren 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 transaction 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. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameren Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of AEE stock opened at $91.24 on Wednesday. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $95.69. The business’s fifty day moving average is $89.68 and its 200 day moving average is $81.80. 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 has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Ameren from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America increased their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

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.