Bayesian Capital Management LP Makes New $333,000 Investment in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $333,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AEE. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 142,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,272,000 after purchasing an additional 36,611 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Ameren by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 10,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $627,000. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Ameren by 85.3% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 3,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Ameren by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 72,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,224,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $79.27 on Thursday. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $86.39. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $72.58 and a 200-day moving average of $72.18. The firm has a market cap of $21.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.08). Ameren had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AEE. Bank of America upped 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. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Ameren from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the company’s 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $981,520.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.