Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $145,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AEE. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 218.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on AEE. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.40.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $73.88. 1,266,327 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,246,909. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $91.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $71.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.51.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 61.33%.

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.