Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Bought by Horizon Investment Services LLC

Horizon Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,725 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 117.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,911,000 after purchasing an additional 11,802 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter valued at $248,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Ameren by 59.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 984,879 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Cadence Bank bought a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $99.71 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $69.39 and a 1 year high of $104.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $97.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AEE. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.70.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.