HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 265.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 173,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 126,157 shares during the quarter. Ameren makes up approximately 1.8% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $15,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AEE. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 106.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $177,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,162 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 8,645.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,160,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,015,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147,723 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 59.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after buying an additional 984,879 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3,738.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 745,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,234,000 after purchasing an additional 726,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 192.6% in the second quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,103,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $78,475,000 after buying an additional 726,404 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $18,906,507.65. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Ameren from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.78.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE stock opened at $92.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $89.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.16. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is 63.06%.

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.