Mather Group LLC. Makes New Investment in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,338 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $97,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AEE. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Ameren by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 124.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 96.7% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on AEE shares. Barclays raised Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ameren from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. StockNews.com raised Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ameren from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.70.

Ameren Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of AEE opened at $70.24 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $72.81 and its 200 day moving average is $72.32. The company has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $88.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 15.84%. The firm’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.61%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $106,935.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total transaction of $302,120.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,318,410.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $106,935.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Company 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.