Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Position Increased by Horizon Investment Services LLC

Horizon Investment Services LLC raised its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 134.5% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AEE shares. Barclays raised their target price on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.70.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $99.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $97.64 and its 200-day moving average is $91.97. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $69.39 and a 52-week high of $104.10. The company has a market cap of $26.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s payout ratio is 64.25%.

About Ameren

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.