Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. Takes Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $67,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 124.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 96.7% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AEE. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Ameren from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays upgraded Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. 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 for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.20.

Ameren Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $71.11 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $88.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.05. The company has a market cap of $18.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 15.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

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.