Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Invests $376,000 in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Ameren by 3.6% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 167,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,532,000 after buying an additional 5,801 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 78,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,878,000 after acquiring an additional 4,245 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in Ameren during the third quarter worth $37,000. Toews Corp ADV acquired a new position in Ameren in the third quarter worth $748,000. Finally, Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ameren during the third quarter valued at $374,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.9 %

AEE opened at $74.35 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $72.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.47. 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 stock has a market cap of $19.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $90.72.

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

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.33%.

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.