Empowered Funds LLC Reduces Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Empowered Funds LLC reduced its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 75.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,318 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,469 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 2.2% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 45,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,972,000 after buying an additional 2,957 shares in the last quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at $525,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameren Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $93.54 on Tuesday. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $94.61. The company has a market cap of $24.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $88.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.47.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AEE shares. Bank of America upped their price objective 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 upped their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.90.

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.