Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 1,700 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $3,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 15.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 0.9% in the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 351,806 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,020,000 after buying an additional 3,134 shares in the last quarter. Executive Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 200.0% in the first quarter. Executive Wealth Group LLC now owns 13,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $969,000 after buying an additional 9,026 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.1% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 21,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tealwood Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.3% in the first quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,008,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AEE shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Ameren from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $106,935.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total transaction of $302,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,318,410.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $106,935.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $981,520.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ameren Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE AEE traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $71.09. The company had a trading volume of 912,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,738,747. The business’s 50-day moving average is $72.77 and its 200-day moving average is $72.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $18.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $88.72.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.08). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 15.84%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 12th. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

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.