Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 701 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 701 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Ameren were worth $691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 108.1% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ameren by 227.3% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Ameren stock opened at $92.35 on Tuesday. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $92.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $87.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.80.

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.