Empirical Finance LLC Has $777,000 Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 115.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Ameren in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 108.1% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 227.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $91.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $87.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.65. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $92.77.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 63.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Argus raised Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.80.

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.