3,658 Shares in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Bought by Entropy Technologies LP

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AEE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 392.0% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 19,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,382,000 after buying an additional 15,484 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,417,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,632,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Ameren by 137.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 100,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,407,000 after purchasing an additional 57,923 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Ameren by 17.7% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 172,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,754,000 after purchasing an additional 25,898 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $91.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.61. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $92.77. The company has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

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.