Beck Bode LLC Acquires 106,370 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Beck Bode LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1,014.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 116,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 106,370 shares during the period. Ameren comprises 1.9% of Beck Bode LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Beck Bode LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $8,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 245.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 56,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,093,000 after acquiring an additional 40,202 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth $1,168,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 36,611 shares during the last quarter. Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the third quarter worth $473,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Ameren by 1.1% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,637,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $122,549,000 after buying an additional 17,468 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ameren Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE AEE traded down $0.48 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $73.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,447,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,727,959. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $90.72. The company has a market cap of $19.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s fifty day moving average is $72.55 and its 200-day moving average is $73.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AEE shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.40.

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.