Blueshift Asset Management LLC Invests $305,000 in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Ameren by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Ameren by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Ameren Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $98.89 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $69.39 and a 12-month high of $104.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $96.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

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.