Cadence Bank Purchases New Shares in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Cadence Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 115.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Ameren during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 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 acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AEE. Mizuho raised Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Argus upgraded Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.90.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Trading Up 0.8 %

AEE opened at $94.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year 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. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $88.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.81.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.