Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $217,000 Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 10.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 361 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted 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 valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank lifted 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 valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $71.46 on Wednesday. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $88.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $19.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,935 shares in the company, valued at $3,318,410.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,768 shares in the company, valued at $981,520.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $302,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,318,410.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Ameren from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $73.00 to $77.00 in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameren has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.20.

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.